Amy Dennis Pierron, 48, Olathe, passed away September 25, 2000, after a long and courageous battle with the complications of a stroke.Mrs. Pierron was a graduate of the University of Kansas School of Nursing and was a staff Registered Nurse at Olathe Medical Center, for 18 years. She received her undergraduate degree in urban studies in 1974 from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH. She was born and raised in St. Louis, the middle child of Selma Dennis and the late, Sidney Dennis, founder of the Dennis Chemical Company of St. Louis. She is survived by her husband, G. Joseph "Joe" Pierron Jr., an appellate judge with the Kansas Court of Appeals; and her three children, Sam 23, Lawrence, recent graduate of University of Kansas and currently completing a MBA from the University of Liverpool (England), Abby 19, of the home, now attending Coe College in Cedar Rapids, IA, and Dan 16, of the home, a 10th grader at Olathe South High School. She is also survived by her mother, Selma Dennis of St. Louis; a brother, Harold Dennis of Boston and his wife, Betsy; and a sister, Elinor Jacobson of Milwaukee and her husband, Paul.
Amy Pierron was influential and active in the Olathe area arts community. In addition to her own singing and acting talents, she devoted many hours to the visual and performing arts in Olathe. In June this year, she received a special service award from the Olathe Community Theater Association for her many years of service on the association's board of directors. Amy was involved in founding and promoting the first Hidden Glen Arts Festival in Olathe and helped organize several popular community talent shows and musical revues. Those included the "Orange Barrel Follies," a benefit for the Deaf Cultural Center, and "Pizzazz," a benefit for the Olathe Area Chamber of Commerce's Economic Development Division. She was a member of the "Drama Mamas," which helps locate resources, props, and costumes for the student theatrical productions at Olathe East High School. In July 1996, she was given an award by the Intellectual Freedom Roundtable of the American Library Association for helping a group of Olathe students fight a successful legal battle that barred the Olathe School District from removing copies of the controversial book, "Annie On My Mind," from school libraries. In addition to all these activities, Amy was a Cub Scoutden mother, a past president of the Olathe Junior Service League, a cantorial soloist and choir member with Congregation Beth Torah, a Paul Harris Fellow of the Olathe Rotary Club, and the founder of several local gourmet cooking and supper clubs. (Arrangements: Memorial Chapel Funeral Home, Olathe, KS) [published in the Kansas City Star on 27 Sep 2000]
