HOLLAND, Vt. Dr. Harold L. Pierson, 91, died Oct. 3, 2003 in Holland.

He was born in Bloomfield, N.J., Aug. 16, 1912, son of William H. and Sara G. Pierson.

He graduated from the Syracuse University School of Journalism in 1934, and from Harvard Dental School in 1938. In 1939, he married Margery L. Green, who died in 1987.

He practiced dentistry and oral surgery in Hampton, N.H. from 1939 until his retirement in 1965. During this time he contributed many articles to the Hampton Union newspaper and various hunting and fishing magazines.

He served on the local school board for 19 years, authored a handbook for school board members and received a Distinguished Service Award from the New Hampshire School Board Association in 1966. He served as vice president of the Board of Trustees for the Spaulding Youth Center for Emotionally Disturbed Children and served on an advisory committee for the New Hampshire Board of Education. He served as director of the New England Program for Teacher Education and in 1973 he was awarded an honorary doctoral degree from New England College in Henniker, N.H.

After retirement he continued to write articles for newspapers and magazines and travel extensively, visiting over 100 countries, frequently as a member of an Earthwatch team assisting in scientific investigations.

Survivors include a brother, William H. Pierson of Williamstown, Mass., his daughter, Linda P. Veale; his son, Jeffrey Pierson; four grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

[Editor's note: Dr. Pierson was also a Trustee of the Lane Memorial Library from 1946-1966}