John J. "Jack" Pearce, Jr., 85, died peacefully at Stonebridge at Montgomery in Skillman, NJ on Thursday, April 29, 2010.

Born in Newark, NJ to John J. Pearce and Anna Snowden Pearce, he spent his youth in Kearny, NJ, graduating from Kearny High School (1942), where he was active in athletics and other extra curricular activities. A varsity in football and basketball player, he was awarded the Frank De Renzis scholar athlete medal in 1942. Jack attended Amherst College from 1942 until his call to active duty in the United States Navy in 1943.

After basic training, Jack entered the Naval Air Corps, where he completed primary and intermediate flight training. He was released from active duty in 1945, shortly after Japan surrendered and served the next two years in the Naval Reserves, eventually receiving an honorable discharge as an Aviation Cadet Class V-5, USNR in 1947.

Mr. Pearce resumed his studies in 1945 at Rutgers University. He limited his athletic activities to Varsity football. He received his BA in 1947, MA in Economics in 1948 and he completed his PhD coursework at Columbia University in 1952.

Mr. Pearce began his career in industrial relations as a Research Assistant for the Bureau of Economic and Business Research. He then became a Research Associate at the Rutgers University Institute of Management and Labor Relations for four years. He advanced to Senior Mediator with the New Jersey State Board of Mediation and then Extension Specialist and Professor of Labor Relations, returning back to the Rutgers University Institute of Management and Labor Relations. In 1972, Jack became Executive Director of the New Jersey State Board of Mediation, a position he held until 1976. During his career, he had mediated or arbitrated over 2000 labor disputes, most notably the 1977 settlement of the 13-month National Lead Sayreville strike. Subsequent to his retirement from State service in 1976, Mr. Pearce became Director of Industrial Relations at Tenneco Chemicals for a period of one year. In addition to his full time work, Jack was an Arbitrator at the American Arbitration Association and NJ State Board of Mediation, Adjunct Professor at Rutgers University and a Lecturer in the Economics Department at Upsala College.

Jack enjoyed golf (twice had a hole-in-one), skating, skiing, fishing and other athletics. He was engaged in countless volunteer public service activities. His memberships include past president of the Piscataway Kiwanis Club, former Elder and Clerk of Consistory of the Second Reformed Church of New Brunswick, member of the First Reformed Church of Rocky Hill, Industrial Relations Research Association, Middlesex County "CETA" Advisory Council, the Seton Hall School of Business Advisory Council, Springdale Golf Course, the Old Guard of Princeton, and NJ Appointee to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Labor Relations Panel.

Jack was a devoted and loving husband, father, grandfather, and great grandfather who will be greatly missed by all.

He is predeceased by his parents, John and Anna Pearce. Surviving are his beloved wife of 65 years, Evelyn C. Pearce; three daughters, Susan Carney (Rockville, MD), Carol and George McGeehan (Holland, MI) and Barbara and John McWilliams (Kendall Park, NJ); grandchildren, Colleen (McWilliams) and Jeff Santoro, Vincent Carney, Kelly (McWilliams) and Michael Carella; great-grandson Ryan Santoro; his sister Dorothy (Pearce) and Elmer Pelsang; and several nieces and nephews.

A memorial service will be held on Friday, May 7, 2010 at 1:30 PM at the First Reformed Church of Rocky Hill, 93 Washington St, Rocky Hill, NJ 08553.

A gathering of friends and family will be held on Thursday May 6, 2010 from 6 to 8 PM at the Kimble Funeral Home, 1 Hamilton Avenue, Princeton, NJ 08542.

Memorial contributions may be made in lieu of flowers to the Alzheimer's Association, PO Box 96011, Washington, DC, 20090-6011 or the National Kidney Foundation, 30 East 33rd Street, New York, NY, 10016.