Matt Pearce's passing prompted an outpouring of community mourning in the popular teacher's memory. That culminates today at 1 p.m. at his funeral at Westwood Mennonite Brethren Church.
Pearce, 48, died suddenly in the early morning hours of Saturday, Jan. 23.
Here are the pieces that the Citizen has published in the last week about the well-known teacher, union leader, coach and athlete.
City mourns loss of Matt Pearce
When he was on the run with a football, leading the pack up the rugby field or taking his team on his shoulders on the basketball court, trying to stop Matt Pearce was like trying to stop a hurricane.
He'd blow right by you.
...
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers drafted him into the CFL in 1989 with their fourth-round pick, 32nd overall. He won the 1990 Grey Cup with the Bombers and played 122 regular season games over seven seasons as a fullback and on special teams. He retired following the 1995 season and completed his teaching degree that year at Simon Fraser University.
He was hired in 1995 to teach at Duchess Park secondary school and was there until 2009, when he left his teaching job at Duchess Park to join the Prince George District Teachers Association, as first vice-president, then served two years as president beginning in July 2011
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The Citizen published Pearce's final letter to the editor, as well as words from his former student and Citizen columnist Nathan Giede:
"That is how I will always remember this great man: friendly, encouraging, disciplined and unwavering. We have truly lost a living legend and the personal hero of many, myself included, in his passing. My prayers go out to his family and friends in this difficult time."
Pearce made impact on many levels
Friend and teacher Glen Thielmann wrote in Pearce's memory.
"I loved his keen wit, well-placed sarcasm, and wicked sense of humour. I admired his tenacity, his balance of life, work, and health (which makes his passing that much more difficult to process), and his desire to give back to the community as a leader in the union and a coach/ref for multiple sports.
The Citizen compiled a photo gallery
