Gea Pierce stands at the front door of her home in her adopted community of Monroe County. Gea hails from The Netherlands. (Deb Ruggeri photo)

By Debbie Ruggeri
For the Republic-Times

Monroe County has been home to Gea Pierce for 34 years. Pierce said, and in the middle of a sunset, in the middle of LRC Road, in the middle of all the sounds of the cicadas, God told her this was where she belonged. Her faith caused her to settle for no less and dismiss the idea of moving “back home” to Holland. Besides, she has a sister here now, Yvonne Brandt, who feels her place was here. With her sister.

Above Gea’s door is a sign — “Vogelsang” ­— which means birdsong in Dutch. It is also her mother’s maiden name. The family ties are strong in the van der Steeg family, which is Gea’s maiden name. 

Gea is Dutch born, one of six children. Her 93-year-old mother still lives in the family home Gea knew since 12, located in the city of Leusden Centrum, The Netherlands. She is cared for by Gea’s three younger sisters. Gea also has a brother living in England. Gea’s claim to fame is having gone to school with a real princess.

In the early 1990s Gea worked at selling cars and swimming pools in this area. That’s where she met her current husband, Terry Pierce. Gea also worked for Badgers who made shoe trees in old Valmeyer. The business was flooded out, forcing Gea to seek other work. 

So, Gea donned her fancy clothes and polished nails and dug into a different type of work, one that was more in line with the education she received — in Montessori education  and psychology — before moving to America. 

Gea loved nothing more than watching her young son soak up knowledge and stories and nature, and it hit her that just may be her calling — mentoring children and teaching them the most basic, truthful, loving lessons about life. She became a first-time mother at 42.

Their only child, a son named Steeg, named after Gea’s maiden name, was born in 1990. At the age of two and one-half, he developed chicken pox. It happened to also be during the height of “the Flood of 1993.” Gea advertised to anyone wishing to help sandbag in Valmeyer that she would gladly babysit their children, as long as her son’s chicken pox were not a problem. It wasn’t. The children came. And they stayed.

Thus was the birth of a very special daycare, with Gea Pierce as director.

Children were taught to let nature be, to use their words carefully and to not  poop in their pants while being “Person of the Day!” 

The designation depended upon where the children were in their lives, and what they accomplished. It further reflects Gea’s belief that every child is unique and special. Her stories are kind and sweet and frequently turn into teachable moments for her lucky students. A dead bug on the sidewalk could easily become a story Gea can use for the children. 

Gea has a character she created named “Richie” — a coyote who would be a part of stories she would make up for her son to guide him during his young life. 

Steeg went on to be Valedictorian at Waterloo High School. He works today in Chicago as a trader in the oil industries. Richie taught him many valuable lessons, I’ll bet.

Located in Western Europe, the people of The Netherlands have become world leaders in agricultural innovation, pioneering new paths to fight hunger without the use of chemical pesticides on plants in greenhouses. In less than 10 years poultry and livestock producers have cut their use of antibiotics by as much as 60 percent. 

Sustainability is second nature to Gea’s homeland, where more than 17 million people live in 16,000 square miles. The Netherlands population is equivalent to 0.23 percent of the total world population. No small wonder she loves Monroe County. It’s crowded over there and Gea loves the space around her.

Gea cultivates milkweed in the middle of her lovely flower gardens. Monarch butterflies breed and feed on milkweed and she is unshakable about their preservation. She was quick to show visitors a monarch in its caterpillar stage and excitedly say that is exactly why she does all she does for the endangered creatures. 

Gea can speak four languages, but the one heard the most frequently and most resoundingly is that of love — love for people, nature, Monroe County and animals. 

Gea has fostered 190 kittens since she began volunteering with Helping Srays four years ago. Her  finished basement houses a community room for the kittens, as well as two single rooms. It also houses her special daycare. She claims the kittens and children together for  a natural relationship, teaching  valuable lessons to one another. 

Blessed are the kittens and children touched by the love and teachings of this Dutch beauty, Gea Pierce.