Originally published in the News-Press by Amy Bennett Williams on January 23, 2025
Everything about Calusa Waterkeeper Codty Pierce was big: his drive, his job, the man himself.
Pierce’s sudden death Jan. 13 leaves an outsized void in a stunned community that relied on him as a champion of drinkable, fishable, swimmable water in Southwest Florida.
Stunned and heartbroken.
His work aside, Pierce, 34, connected with other humans in a uniquely warm way, often turning into an unrelated brother, son or uncle for those he befriended. “Everybody became Codty’s family,” said Connie Ramos-Williams, Calusa Waterkeeper’s executive director, as evidenced by a memorial Facebook group where people share their experiences with him.
Original Story