Dr. Bob’s impact went beyond Wimberley

Robert Peter Pierce, affectionately known as Dr. Bob, passed away on June 19. The storied teacher may have finished his career and service in Wimberley, but he spent a lifetime impacting everyone around him.

Pierce was born on June 25, 1944 in Pittsburg, Kansas to Vandau Peter Pierce and Jane Louis Runner. He is survived by his wife Diane Pierce; the mother of his children Lois Pierce; three children Christina Lesher, Robert Pierce and Laurie Mann; brother David Pierce and grandchildren Luke and Max Lesher and James Mann.

Pierce went to school in Pittsburg before graduating high school and beginning his academic career at Pittsburg State University in Kansas. He would go on to get his PhD from the University of Nebraska in philosophy. That, combined with his time as a military policeman in the United States Army, helped to form two of his life’s passions in education and criminal justice, which he was involved with in many of the locations he lived in over the last 50 years.

At one point in time, Pierce was a reserve officer for the Huntsville Sheriff’s Department as well as an administrator for Huntsville ISD. He worked at Sam Houston State University in the Criminal Justice Department.

He was also a teacher at Conroe High School for nearly 15 years and the Language Arts Department Chair where he was awarded the Outstanding Classroom Teacher award by his colleagues.

“He was one of my favorite teachers,” Joey Wells, former student who graduated from Conroe High School in 1998, said. “Dr. Bob was also one of the most memorable teachers. He inspired me, made me laugh, made me mad, and believed in me. He believed in all of us. That’s a good teacher.”

Beyond his time at Conroe, he also spent 25 years teaching in the Texas Prison System for Lee College.

Eventually, he found his way to Wimberley as a teacher for Katherine Anne Porter School. He was named the Teacher of the Year by the Texas State Teachers Association while there during the 2009-10 school year. He would go on to teach at Wimberley High School, where he eventually retired from, as well as teaching at Austin Community College.

Beyond his passion for teaching and criminal justice, he also was also a giver.

“He was a sneaky philanthropist,” his wife Diane Pierce said. “He donated a lot of money surreptitiously to students and people in need - people who needed money. He gave money to teachers for humanitarian trips. Wherever he worked, he always had a humanities club at each school. The kids were very productive and brought in a lot of money and volunteer work in that club.”

At each school, his involvement in Humanities grew.

“Dr. Bob always had such a popular class at Wimberley High School, and as a result he really grew our Humanities program,” Jason Valentine, who served as WHS principal during a portion of Dr. Bob’s tenure at WHS, said. “As Leo Club sponsor he established so many community connections that benefited our students tremendously.”

And the Texas Legislature agreed. In 1997, the Texas Senate gave him the Outstanding Teacher of the Humanities award. But he didn’t just encourage others to be involved. He was involved in the community himself. In Wimberley, that meant being a longterm active member in the Lions Club.

Among many other local organizations, Pierce was a strong supporter of KWVH Wimberley Valley Radio. Not only was he a board member, but he was also one of the co-founders of the station.

“He is an absolutely incredible, giving-to-a-fault and generous person,” fellow Lion Michael Murphy said. “He is very selfless… He would work extra shifts out at Lions Field and multiple stations. He’d take a shift and turn it into a day… In a way he wasn’t one Lion, he was two or three active Lions. He always gave of himself and his resources and did it selflessly. That is the kind of person he was. He was always putting into the pot. That made him unique. We have a lot of good people in this world. He was just especially good.”

Dr. Bob’s look back at his own career in 2011

“Over the past 41 years I have taught in the military, prison, high schools, universities, charter school, community college, graduate school, and a Catholic university. The subjects I taught included: English, philosophy, criminal justice, eduction, and folklore.

I was also a Personnel Director, Asst. Principal, and Professor. I published a little, gave papers, and was a trade magazine editor. My collected papers are housed in the following places: Texas State Archives, University of Texas history collection, and the Texas Prison Museum.

None of the above stoked the fires of my motivation. The secret of my limited success has been the blessing of knowing, and teaching, students who laughed at my corny jokes and knew that I cared about their success. For that blessing I shall always be ever so grateful.”

Dr. Bob’s comment in 2011 on a Facebook group former students created for him called “Fans of Dr. Bob.”