One of the most well-known and revered Arizona legislators in recent years, Russell Pearce of Mesa, passed away on January 5, and his funeral was held on Monday. Hundreds packed the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints central stake center in Mesa to listen to eulogies from family and friends, most of whom were brought to tears speaking of his love for Arizona, his family, church, God, and the Constitution.
His sister Kathy Pearce spoke about “the work he did to protect our freedoms.” He “kept our country free so we could have the rights we do,” she said.
His son Colten Pearce walked up to the podium with a Mountain Dew “as a PSA since dad had a Mountain Dew every day for breakfast.” He relayed how his father was born to a poor family with seven children, the fifth child. Some days he only ate bread and water, and one day he was sent home from school since he had no shoes. He was “no angel,” tying his younger sisters to bedposts in order to babysit them.
In high school, Pearce moved in with some family friends and helped work in their cotton fields as a laborer. His son said Pearce loved driving hot rods down Main Street in Mesa growing up. He was driving his brother Lester Pearce’s car when the Mesa Police gave him a warning about driving too fast and noisy. He disregarded the warning, and so after he returned the car to his brother, the police came after his brother. Another amusing incident occurred when Pearce took off with the mascot in front of Bob’s Big Boy restaurant for a while. After people noticed it missing, he returned the statue.
He served a mission for his church in New York after high school and then joined the National Guard for nine years. Next, he became a deputy with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO), which his son said was his “true calling,” he had a “lifelong passion for law enforcement.”
Colten Pearce told some amusing stories about his dad’s work for MCSO. He said due to the “statute of limitations” and “poor recordkeeping” he could reveal some of his father’s unique tactics. He patrolled Mesa when it had a lot of dirt roads and trailer parks, and when he’d arrive at a burglary he would put notches in the tires of nearby cars in case they turned out to be owned by suspects later. Similarly, he’d use a slingshot to take out the taillights on the cars of suspected drug dealers.
Pearce’s son said it was “sad” that the main thing everyone knew about his dad was his sponsorship of the 2010 illegal immigration bill SB 1070. He was a very generous man, he said, growing up he would give him money and instruct him to give it to the homeless.
Next, Pearce’s brother Richard Pearce spoke, saying “You always knew where he stood and it would square with the Constitution.” He relayed how his brother could bench press 437 pounds as a younger man weighing 170 pounds. Once when Pearce tried to rope a horse in the snow, the horse took off dragging him in loops around the pasture, creating five foot wide paths with his body like a “human snow plow” until he wisely let go.
Another time Pearce was at the rodeo, one of his great loves, when a horse stomped on his head. It was “the best place to stomp [on him] without doing any damage,” his brother said. He said the spirit of his brother is sticking around and haunting “the ninth floor of the Capitol building,” referring to the governor’s office.
Evelyn Brinkerhoff, Pearce’s sister, told how he would take her hand as a small child and kindly lead her around. In first grade, Pearce repeatedly left the school, causing him to flunk the grade and repeat it. She relayed a humorous story about how Pearce, ever the prankster, at age 7, told her, a 5 year-old at the time, and some others to put on their bathing suits, no shoes, get butter knives as weapons, and follow him to the beach to dig for treasure.
Someone driving by saw them walking in a ditch by the side of the road, and even though they had been warned not to accept rides from strangers, they accepted it because their feet hurt. It turned out they had been reported missing and the TV news was talking about it. They had walked all the way to Chandler, and the stranger dropped them off at the Chandler Police Station.
Pearce’s friend Brook Dewalt met him in 1987 when he was manager of a movie theater and Pearce worked as security on the weekends. He said he felt like he “won the lottery” when he cliqued with Pearce and became good friends. Dewalt said Pearce was “really a squishy teddy bear, particularly to the grandkids.” He loved roller coasters, and rode the California Screamin’ roller coaster six times in a row at Disneyland.
Dewalt said Pearce took a pocket copy of the Constitution with him everywhere and loved to debate. “He enjoyed hearing all sides of an argument,” but “we knew his way was the way.” Dewalt said Pearce was “truly a soft-spoken man” who believed in “justice and fairness for all,” and was “led by the values instilled by our forefathers.” He went on, “We all won the lottery by knowing Russell. He made us all better, some may not even know it.” Dewalt said Pearce loved to play cards, and a week and a half ago they got together and stayed up until 3 a.m. playing with their wives.
Bruce Ross, another friend of Pearce’s, said the lawmaker “was like a walking Constitution,” he “knew the Constitution like the back of his hand.” He wasn’t someone to debate unless you knew the subject. Ross said Pearce “would protect Arizona … at any cost.”
Royce Flora, the former Maricopa County Treasurer who hired Pearce as his chief deputy after Pearce left the Arizona Legislature, relayed how he was at the legislature to get a bill passed that would protect homeowners. All the other county treasurers in the state opposed it, “since the investors didn’t like it.” They warned Flora that they had numerous lobbyists. Flora responded, “That’s OK, we have Russell.” The legislation passed.
Flora said he heard yelling and screaming at the front of the office one day. He went to investigate and saw a man yelling at his staff. The man asked him what he was doing there, and Flora, a former stuntman, responded, “I’m here to protect my staff.” Pearce, who was substantially built with broad shoulders, next walked up, and the man asked, “What’s he doing here?” Flora responded, “He’s here for your protection.”
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Rachel Alexander is a reporter at The Arizona Sun Times and The Star News Network. Follow Rachel on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Russell Pearce” by Gage Skidmore CC2.0.
