Susan S. Bunting Pierce | Events coordinator, 86

Susan Sayen Bunting Pierce, 86, formerly of Berwyn, an events coordinator, died Saturday of heart failure at Bellingham, a retirement community in West Chester.

In 1966, Mrs. Pierce launched a business, coordinating and planning debuts, weddings, and charitable events.

Her weddings first-aid kit included smelling salts and safety pins. "There's always an usher who is about to lose his pants," she told a reporter in 1971. Her goal, her daughter Sandra Arnold said, was to ensure that the parents of the bride "bask in the afterglow of a perfect day."

Though she cut back on her schedule in the 1980s, she continued to chair the annual Philadelphia Charity Ball until 1999 when she was 79.

Mrs. Pierce graduated from the Baldwin School in Bryn Mawr and later served on its board. After graduating from Philadelphia School of Office Training, she worked for a steel company in Philadelphia. During World War II, she volunteered as a driver for the military and with the USO, and helped open an Army officers' club.

In 1946, she married Reeves Bunting, with whom she had five children. He died in 1978. In 1982, she married William G. Pierce. He died in 1989.

Mrs. Pierce was a volunteer with several organizations including the American Red Cross, Bryn Mawr Hospital, and the Devon Horse Show. She enjoyed gardening, summers in Maine, and cruises.

In addition to her daughter, she is survived by daughters Sally Kaufmann and Susan Larson; sons Reeves Bunting III and Pearce Bunting; 10 grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

A memorial service will be at 1 p.m. tomorrow at St. David's Episcopal Church, 763 S. Valley Forge Rd., Wayne.