Mrs. Barbara Batton Pierce

Barbara Batton Pierce, 95, passed away peacefully on March 17, 2026 in Orlando, FL. Born March 18, 1931 in Ben Hill Co., GA she was the first daughter of Arthur Wesly Batton and Rena Batton. She lived in Georgia in her early childhood until her parents moved to the Jacksonville Florida area where she grew up. Barbara, like many of her era, was one of the greatest generation, growing up in the Depression and WWII years. She grew up with hardships, yet within her circumstances, always strived to be the best she could be. She excelled in school, skipping a grade and graduating shortly after turning 17. She had dreams of being a doctor but her family couldn’t afford college. After high school she met her future husband, Malcolm Pierce (deceased) at a surprise birthday party some friends put together for her. He asked her for a date that night and six weeks later they were engaged. This turned into a marriage that lasted 66 years. They moved around during their marriage, living in Jacksonville FL, Chicago IL, Atlanta GA, Dallas TX before making a move to Brisbane Australia. During their retirement years, they enjoyed traveling, seeing some more of the world, but especially enjoying the US national parks and historical sites from coast to coast. After 34 years in Australia, then moved back to the USA, settling in Minneapolis MN and lastly in Orlando FL. Barbara’s working career began at Sears in the credit department through high school to contribute to the family living expenses. She became an excellent ‘skip tracer’ within the credit card department at Sears, skills which helped her later in her genealogy interests of tracing the family tree. She was also a proud member of the DAR. Her work life was interrupted by her devotion to a growing family of four active sons, yet after ‘boy wrangling’ she rejoined the workforce while living in Brisbane Australia as office manager for Parker Pen and later a short-term role working for the World Expo 88 in Brisbane Australia. Barbara moved to Orlando in 2021 to be closer to family. She was able to spend her final years in Florida, a familiar place of her early years growing up. Preceded in death by her husband, Malcolm, Barbara is survived by her sons, Mark (Debra), Mason (Wendy), Michael (Sue) and Mylan (first wife Shan and second wife Lucy). She is also survived by 8 grandchildren, Rachael (Tom, deceased), Sarah (Casey) and Robert (Ashley), Ashleigh (Brandon), Kathryn (Andres), Emily and Carmen (Ming). She was a great-grandmother to Emma, Amelia, Jack, Eddie and Luna. Barbara was a beloved big sister to Virginia (deceased) and brother-in-law (John), and aunt to their children Debbie, Joni, and Linda (deceased). She also held a close relationship with her sister-in-law Ruth (deceased), brother-in-law James (deceased) and as an aunt to their daughter, Tina (Gary). In lieu of people sending flowers, Barbara said she would welcome donations being made to either Breast Cancer Research or the Alzheimer Research organizations as detailed below. She loved flowers, but felt it more important to do good for others with those funds: Breast Cancer Research Foundation https://www.bcrf.org/ Alzheimer's Association https://www.alz.org/ Barbara’s funeral will be a private graveside service in Parrot GA on Saturday, March 28. A Celebration of Life gathering for extended family and friends will be held in Orlando on April 25 - details to be forthcoming.

Mrs. Barbara Batton Pierce

March 18, 1931 - March 17, 2026