RALEIGH - Robert Vernon Pearce Sr., 87, died Saturday, Aug. 18, 2007. Funeral services were conducted Wednesday, Aug. 22, in the chapel of Brown-Wynne Funeral Home, Cary. Graveside services and final interment were at Harris Chapel Baptist Church, Youngsville.

He was born in Youngsville, spending his youth and young adult years in Youngsville before joining the Army-Air Force in 1941. Mr. Pearce worked many years with Carolina Power and Light Company, then the N.C. State Highway Commission. At one time he operated a convenience store in Raleigh, and retired in 1995 as the director of the L.R. Harrill Youth Center on the campus of N.C. State Fairgrounds.

Surviving: daughter, Beth Fowler (Steve) of Naples, Fla.; son, Robert V. Pearce Jr. (Sandra) of Atlanta, Ga.; sister, Mildred Murphy of Youngsville; brother, Buddy Pearce of Wake Care Center; several nieces and nephews. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Westover United Methodist Church Building Fund, 300 Powell Drive, Raleigh, NC 27606.