The late Dr. Paul W. Pierce III, affectionately known as Bill, began his profession as an engineer. But after working for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for two years, he decided to change directions.

Pierce’s wife, Pat, supported his decision.

“I can remember when Bill came home and said, ‘I want to go to medical school,’” Pat said. “He told me he had become tired of sitting behind a desk.”

Because of his engineering degree, Pat said her husband had had most of the math requirements needed for medical school, but he did have to take some science classes, which he did at Mississippi College.

Pat, who was a teacher at Warren Central High School, was already a student at MC. She was working towards a master’s degree in counseling. She said she and Bill would ride to school together in the mornings.

“Bill came back as soon as his classes were over and went back to work at the Corps of Engineer,” she said, adding the Corps allowed Bill to continue working there while also going to school.

Pierce ultimately graduated from the University of Mississippi Medical School in 1972. He spent three more years in Jackson for his internship and residency in internal medicine with UMMC before the couple returned to Vicksburg in 1975, where he began practicing at Vicksburg Medical Center. In 2008, Pierce founded Medical Associates of Vicksburg, a primary care practice, where he continued his 46-plus career as a physician.

In recognition of her husband’s dedication and leadership in the field of internal medicine in Mississippi, in 2020 Pat established an endowment at UMMC — The Dr. Paul W. Pierce III Internal Medicine Endowment, which will honor in perpetuity his contributions  to the field of internal medicine and will provide ongoing financial support to the internal medicine department.

“Dr. Bill Pierce was an outstanding member of the medical community, and we are honored to have his name and reputation permanently tied to our institution,” Dr. Michael Hall said. Hall serves as the Patrick H. Lehan Chair of Cardiovascular Medicine and Professor and Chairman of the Department of Medicine at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. “This endowed fund in the Department of Medicine will have an immense impact on those who come to train at UMMC, like Dr. Pierce. Funding for this endowment will ensure that the UMMC Department of Medicine can attract and retain the best academic leaders in the field of internal medicine and thus provide our patients with unmatched care. We are deeply grateful to Dr. Pierce and his wife Pat for creating this fund and to all of those individuals and organizations who have generously contributed their support.”

In addition to the endowment, on Wednesday, Pierce was also recognized in Vicksburg with a ceremony dedicating the intersection of Indiana Avenue and South Frontage Road as the Dr. Bill Pierce Memorial Frontage Road.

“I thought the world of Dr. Bill Pierce and I am so glad to see him being remembered by establishing an endowment in his name at UMMC, and also honoring him in naming a road the Bill Pierce Road,” Vicksburg resident Steve Golding said. “Dr. Pierce sincerely cared about each of his patients and he faithfully supported his local community.”

Physician, mentor, father

With a career that spanned more than four decades, Pierce was a beloved physician by those he worked with and his patients.

Baleigh Ford, who worked as a PA-C with Pierce said, “He went the extra mile. He took time to know his patients on a more personal basis and his patients loved him as much as he loved them.”

Ford said she was fortunate to have had the opportunity to “learn and grow by the best and most experienced physician” who was truly a blessing to those around him.

“For a physician to be loved by their patients isn’t surprising. But for a doctor to be truly loved by his staff is rare and speaks volumes of the person he was,” she said. “I was blessed with one of the greatest opportunities of my life when I was hired to work with Dr. Pierce III. Dr. Pierce left a legacy on this town and in my heart.”

Melanie Furr, also a PA-C  with Pierce, concurred with Ford on both the influence Pierce had on her career and his dedication to his patients.

“It was clear to see that he cared about his patients very deeply,” Furr said. “He took the importance of practicing medicine personal and helped more people than could ever be counted. I often recount the lessons I learned during my time with him as my supervising physician at Medical Associates and consider it a blessing that the foundation of my own medical career was influenced by Dr. Paul Pierce III.”

Perhaps the greatest legacy Pierce bestowed on the community were his two sons, Paul IV and Sam, both of whom chose to practice medicine in Vicksburg. Paul is an interventional cardiologist at Merit Health River Region and Sam is an internal medicine doctor at Medical Associates.

“I can’t remember ever wanting to be anything other than a physician, and that is due in large part to my father,” Paul said. “Having said that, he could not have done any of what he did without the love and support of my mother.”

Sam said he too always wanted to be a doctor, even though he did change his mind a few times along the way.

“But I always seemed to come back to medicine,” Sam said. “My dad never tried to sway me in any certain direction. He always just wanted me to be the best at whatever profession I chose.”

Pierce, also by example, taught his sons to have empathy and be dedicated to patients.

“He loved his patients. He considered all of them family, and he cared for them as such. He would take time with each and every one of them. He would even sometimes give them birthday presents,” Sam said. “And once becoming a doctor, he certainly influenced the way I practice medicine. I modeled my professional career after his, including following my patients both in the hospital and clinic, which is a rarity these days. I asked his advice on every aspect of our practice. I was blessed with one of the greatest opportunities of my life when I was hired to work with him.”

Paul also recalled how he saw first-hand how his father cared for his patients.

“I saw how he was able to take care of people and the positive effect he had in the community, and how his patients loved him,” Paul said. “And when it came to diagnosing patients, he really didn’t have much of an ego. He would readily refer patients to other specialists or other institutions to help them get a diagnosis, and I think they realized that and had more of an appreciation for him because of it. Also, he wasn’t afraid to sit down in the exam room and have a real, honest conversation with people at length, even if it meant getting an hour or two… behind in clinic. He knew about their lives, their personal problems, their children, their work, and what they did for fun, and people responded to that.”

Pierce was a beloved physician, something both Paul and Sam witnessed, but, to them, he was also just dad.

“I probably shouldn’t say this, but when I was 13, he used to let me drive home from the golf course every Sunday,” Sam said. “Which was 30 miles from home. We would take back roads home and he would instruct me on driving the whole way.”

Paul also shard fond memories of growing up with Dr. Pierce as a father.

“He would take me to the hospital with him sometimes when he had to go back in and see someone at night,” Paul said. “When I was eight or nine, it was Christmas Eve, and he got called in. He asked me if I wanted to go and I was reluctant to go with him because, well, Santa. He talked me into it, and we were up there for a while. It was close to midnight when we got back home, and Santa had come early. We stayed up very late playing with the toys and putting things together. He knew I was worried about it and worked it out with my mother. That’s just the kind of person he was.”

But, Paul joked, there are two sides to every coin.

But on the flip side, I remember breaking my brother’s arm when he was little, and he (Dad) basically told him to tape two twigs to it and get back outside. Doctor’s kids get the worst medical care,” Paul laughed.

For more information on the Dr. Paul W. Pierce III Internal Medicine Endowment and how to support it, contact Dr. Melissa Robinson at mrobinson6@umc.edu or 601-984-1106.