In memoriam: Wendy Pierson, Personal Fitness Interiors, succumbs to cancer

Co-founder of Vermont’s Personal Fitness Interiors, Wendy Jo Pierson has died after an 18-month battle with brain cancer. She was 53.

According to an obituary in a local newspaper, “her battle with the disease was courageous and inspiring.”

Pierson earned a degree from Parson’s School of Design in Manhattan, N.Y., in 1986. After attending the Women’s Small Business Project in Burlington, Vt., in 1988, she began Personal Fitness Interiors with business partner, Nancy Condit. There, Pierson oversaw the business.

The newspaper noted she was “devoted to fitness and found deep satisfaction in helping people find ways to improve their lives through exercise and activity.” She and Condit also opened Women’s Source for Sports in 1997. Pierson was a golfer, badminton player and an avid hiker.

A service was held in Vermont on July 8. In lieu of flowers, the family requested that donations be made to the WP Brain Research Foundation, 8153 Route 116, Hinesburg, Vt., 05461, or to the charity of one’s choice.

–Therese Iknoian