Peter Tierney

PETE TIERNEY

It is with extreme sadness that the family of Peter W. W. Tierney announce his passing on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. Pete was born on October 12, 1945 to Paul and Rosalie Tierney in Brooklyn, NY.

Pete lived in Brooklyn, NY, Chicago, IL, Notre Dame/South Bend, IN, St. Lucia, Freeville, NY, and Frederick, MD before settling in Boulder, CO.

After graduating from Notre Dame (class of 1967), Pete joined the Peace Corps, serving two years in St. Lucia. Those two institutions set the trajectory of his life, which focused on service and education. While serving in St. Lucia, he started the Teacher Training Centre, which helped revamp the country's educational system. He went on to teach in residential, comprehensive, and special education settings and earned a master's degree in alternative education from Goddard College.

After moving to Colorado, Pete became principal of September School in Boulder where he launched the first class of the high school. He went on to run the nationally recognized Jefferson County youth employment and training program for 15 years and started Colorado's first Youth Conservation Corps, which now has nearly 1,700 members serving across the state.

In 1994, Pete co-founded Long View High School, a public alternative school in Lakewood, CO. For 22 years, he ran and taught in this small, safe, rigorous learning community with a functional-family atmosphere for students who previously had not experienced the success they desired.

Pete will be remembered for his many athletic accomplishments including the Hawaiian Ironman at the age of 60, numerous triathlons, endurance cycling races, the JFK 50 miler, and 43 uninterrupted years of the Bolder Boulder with his son (and more recently with his granddaughters). He received the U.S. Presidential award for his exceptional work with youth employment programming (1991), the Colorado Distinguished Teacher award (2004), and the Notre Dame Lifetime Achievement (William D. Reynolds) Award for work with youth (2018). He found joy in family genealogy, Irish music, astronomy, poetry, debate, great literature, reading to his grandchildren, watching movies, hiking with friends, and so many simple pleasures of living. Pete was a story teller extraordinaire, leading him to make and keep many friends from each stage of his life, including his students. Having all these people in his life was one of his joys.

Pete spent his final days surrounded by immediate family and catching up with loved ones and lifelong friends. He is survived by his loving wife of more than 52 years, Carol (nee Watkins); their children Gavin (Susan) and Meghan (Dhirendra); four beloved granddaughters, Maeve and Etta of Long Beach, CA and Cailyn and Nessa of Kathmandu, Nepal; and brothers Paul (Susan) and Bill (Barry). Pete was preceded in death by his parents.

If you would like to honor Pete with a donation, please consider National Parks Conservation Association (npca.org), Colorado Youth Corps Association (cyca.org), or OneWorld Running (oneworldrunning.com).