Funeral services for William Franklin Pierce, prominent and highly esteemed Dyer countian, land owner, church official and civic leader, were held at three o'clock this afternoon in the Rehobeth Methodist Church. The rites were said by the paster, the Reverend J. D. Wright. Burial was in Rehobeth Cemetery with Johnson Funeral Home in Newbern in charge of the arrangements.

Mr. Pierce, who was eighty, died yesterday at the Parkview Hospital here, following a long illness. He previously had been hospitalized in Memphis, but later was removed here for continued treatment.

Born and raised in the Tatumville Community, Mr. Pierce had been a resident of that section all his life. He was a leader in the affairs of the community, and like his brother Cab Pierce of Dyersburg, has served as a member of the Dyer County Court for several terms. He was a successful farmer and the family at one time owned and bred valuable show horses. He had been prominent and active in church affairs and had served as a steward in the Rehobeth Methodist Church. He was a Mason.