Barbara Joanne “Beau” Diehl-Peirce died unexpectedly on February 29, 2020. She was 65 years old.
Beau loved and was loved by family and friends, especially by her husband Edmund “Ned” Peirce. She was adventurous, embraced life, and was dedicated to caring for others. She was a psychotherapist with a practice treating adults and children in Amesbury, MA. She loved her children unconditionally.
Beau was an avid gardener, a voracious reader, and an enthusiastic violinist. She expressed herself artistically through dance, music, and jewelry making. She enjoyed tackling big projects like renovating her home with her husband and getting involved with environmental and political issues.
She deeply cared about spending time with her friends and family, sharing adventures and deep conversations. When you were with her you had her complete undivided attention. As one dear friend said, “I thought of her as my best friend. And so many of her friends thought of her as their best friend.” Of their childhood on Long Island, Beau’s sister remembered, “She was the light of the family, filled with happiness, caring, and optimism.” Her steadfast husband simply stated, “She was the dearest person I ever knew. She made me a better person.”
Beau was born on March 31, 1954, the daughter of Benjamin J. Diehl, Jr. and Agnes C. (Tschinkel) Diehl. She spent her childhood on Long Island, living in New Hyde Park, NY. She received a Bachelor’s degree from Queens College in New York. She studied health, environment, and art at Evergreen State College in Washington state. In the early 1980s she received a Master’s degree in Expressive Therapy from Lesley University in Cambridge, MA. She worked at Danvers State Hospital, at RAW Art in Lynn MA, and taught in the expressive therapy department at Lesley University before starting a psychotherapy private practice in Amesbury. She lived in New York state, Alaska, and Washington state before moving to the Boston area in the early 1980s. In the 1990s she married and divorced her first husband with whom she had her two sons. Beau moved to Amesbury in the early 2000s and met and then married Ned Peirce in Amesbury on July 14, 2007. They loved each other very much.
Beau is survived by her husband Edmund Converse Peirce III, her sons, James R. Brittan and John B. “Jack” Brittan, her step-son Conner Peirce, step-daughter Kendal Peirce her sister Celia A. Diehl-Skinner and husband John V. Skinner, brother James A. Diehl, sister Christine Diehl Cummins and husband John J. “Jerry” Cummins, Jr., nephew Tristan M. Cummins and wife Cori Chong, niece Samantha C. (Cummins) Watt and husband William Watt, her husband’s siblings and their spouses, and many other family members and dear friends.
In light of the emerging coronavirus situation, the memorial service will be delayed to a future date. In lieu of flowers, consider making a donation to either the YCL (Youth Climate Leaders) at https://www.youthclimateleaders.org or NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness of Massachusetts) at https://namimass.org/donate/
Information can also be obtained from the Morris Funeral Home in Ipswich phone 978-356-2422.
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