ORANGE — From her supportive nature to her love of animals to her devotion to Orange, there were few lives educator Elizabeth Peirce didn’t connect with.

Peirce, better known as “Zib,” died on July 6 at the age of 99. Her daughter Jane Peirce said that first and foremost her mother was a teacher with a great love for education. As a child, Jane would eagerly wait to see the drawings done by the students that her mother, a teacher, would bring home.

Elizabeth’s teaching career began at the Feeding Hills School in Springfield and continued with the founding of the Head Start kindergarten program in Orange in the 1960s. She taught kindergarten at Dexter Park Innovation School until her retirement in 1987.

Jane said her mother strongly believed education should start when children are young and she found it fulfilling to be responsible for their early development.

“She remembered every kid she ever taught,” Jane said.

Elizabeth was known for her love of animals — any animal. Jane joked that her mother had to love them, because Jane was the one who often brought them home. Goats, rabbits, squirrels, skunks, foxes — all were welcome at the Peirce home. Growing up, they had cats and dogs, including a couple of St. Bernards who often got rides in the Jeep to get ice cream.

It was around 1990 that Jane’s horse had died and she found a new one in Indiana. While there, she learned that the horse didn’t like to be alone, and the decision was made to bring Lucy the donkey home as company.

“From then on,” said Jane, “we always had horses and donkeys.”

Jane’s brother Peter Peirce said their mother loved every minute of her life — growing up in the country, riding horses, marrying her high school sweetheart Clifton Waldo Peirce, who died in 1992, and working in the schools. Peter, a photographer and musician, said his parents even allowed him to have a set of drums in the house.

“She was willing to accept who I am, was going to be, and would continue mothering me,” said Peter.

When it came to town service, there were many roles that Elizabeth took on. Among these were boards for the town of Orange, local school committees, the Congregational Church, the Lake Mattawa Association and others. She was very active in preserving Quabbin town history, serving as volunteer, president or curator of the Swift River Valley Historical Society well into her 90s. She authored several books on the topic, including “The Lost Towns of Quabbin Valley” “Quabbin Valley: Life as It Was,” and “Quabbin Valley: People and Places.”

Jane said history was always important to their father and after he retired, he and Elizabeth joined the Swift River Valley Historical Society. He was president up until his death, and Elizabeth took on the role soon after, becoming “a scholar of Quabbin history.” According to Jane, she helped organize the society elections and cataloged and organized the historical items.

“She liked being involved and wasn’t afraid to take charge of things,” said Peter. “She was a real driving force — not a wallflower.”

In addition to serving with the historical society, their father was also part of the Conservation Commission and was a water commissioner. In fact, it was her parents’ time in local government that inspired Jane to run for Selectboard in the 1990s. She said their father was “all over it,” putting up campaign posters all around town, becoming a “one-man political campaign chair.” Jane is now in her seventh year on the board.

“That was the ethic I grew up with,” said Jane. “When you’re part of the community, you give back what you can.”

During a recent Selectboard meeting, Chair Tom Smith took the opportunity to express to Jane his condolences on the recent death of her mother.

“I was fortunate to meet Zib, and she was quite a lady,” Smith said. “I was new to town and she welcomed me and taught me a few very quick and fun things that I will never forget.”

“She was 99 years old and she lived a long and well-loved life,” Jane Peirce replied.

Fellow Selectboard member Richard Sheridan said the elder Peirce was his son’s teacher “and he absolutely adored her, as we did.”

Peter said Elizabeth expected a lot, but also accepted what she got. She encouraged learning what one had to learn and worried about her children right up until the end.

“About five weeks before she passed,” he said, “she said, ‘I had a good, long life and I loved every minute of it.’”

Max Bowen can be reached at 413-930-4074 or mbowen@recorder.com.

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