George Spears Obituary

George "Joe" Edwin Spears, a life-long resident of Glen Ellyn, Illinois, passed away in Lawrenceville, Georgia on Saturday, June 18, 2011 at age 89. He died from complications of Parkinson's disease. To the end of this life George remained strong, gregarious, loving and fiercely independent - just as he had lived his life. Born May 22, 1922 in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, to Dorset B.Spears and Ann (Gray) Spears, George's siblings include Ida (Spears) Obrecht, Gertrude (Spears) Lammers, Helen (Spears) Benhart and Harry Spears - his only surviving sibling. Raised in a home built in Glen Ellyn by his father, George attended Main Street Elementary School and the original Glenbard Township (now Glenbard West) High School, graduating in 1940. As a boy he manually set bowling pins at Hesterman's Lanes and caddied at Glen Oak Country Club - both in Glen Ellyn. At Glenbard, George excelled in football, band and socials. On the football field he was small but tough, and was a starter on the school's championship and undefeated 1939 team. With the German Blitzkrieg rolling across Europe, George fibbed about his age and enlisted in the Army in 1939; he was inducted in September 1940. In the Army, George trained and served as a Coastal Artillery gunner and First Sergeant, serving in California and Washington states and the Aleutian Islands. George volunteered for the Army Air Corps' selective Aviation Cadet program, successfully completing flight training in Blythe, Merced and Stockton, California. During flight training George married his high school sweetheart, Virginia Curtis of Lombard, Illinois in November 1944. George then earned his commission as a second lieutenant and Army Air Corps pilot wings in February 1945 at Randolph Field, Texas. By late 1945, with the wars in Europe and Japan concluded, George was released from the Army and headed to the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana with his new bride. George earned his Bachelor of Science in Engineering at the University of Illinois. George made his living working in and selling supplies to the printing industry, but he made his life around his family and community. By 1959 George and Virginia returned to Glen Ellyn to raise their young family. Their children include: Curtis Allen Spears and his wife Joan (Helledy) Spears of Florence, Wisconsin; George Brian Spears and his wife Ellen (Griffith) Spears of Atlanta, Georgia; Chris (Spears) Ward and her husband John Ward of Berkeley Lake, Georgia; and Glenn Fielding Spears and his wife Kimberly (Smith) Spears of Johns Creek, Georgia. The four children all graduated from Glenbard West High School in 1965, 1967, 1971 and 1974. George and Virginia have six grandchildren and one great-grandchild. Their grandchildren include Aaron Spears, Lelia Spears, Benjamin Spears, Kristin (Spears) John, Amanda Ward and Katelyn Spears. Their great-grandchild is Bowen Spears, son of Aaron and Alison Spears. George's many volunteer activities included coaching little league football and local leadership in the Eisenhower and Nixon presidential campaigns. In Glen Ellyn, George served on the Board of Directors of the B. R. Ryall YMCA as well as the Forest Hill Cemetery Association. George also contributed greatly, but often behind the scenes, to Virginia's passion, the Glen Ellyn Historical Society. He helped found, and was an active member of, the Glenbard West Boosters Club, and was a member of the Kiwanis and Rotary service organizations. Retiring in 1989, George became a regular at the Village Links Golf Course in Glen Ellyn. Over the years George and Virginia attended almost every Glenbard West football game, cheering loudly from the stands from 1961 until Virginia passed away in 2002 and George moved to Georgia to be near children in 2009. At a small farewell for George when he left Glen Ellyn for Georgia in 2009, he made these remarks: "To all my dear friends, Let me thank you all for coming this afternoon to share some time together before I leave for Georgia. As all of you know, I am a Glen Ellyn boy through and through. This very warm and embracing town, filled with wonderful people like you, has been my home for most of my 87 years. From the humble house my father built on Kenilworth Avenue, to Main Street School and Glenbard, and the brick houses on Crest and Roger Roads, we have shared many grand times. Virginia and I raised our children here, as did many of you. They have all moved away, so now it's time for me to move near them. Let's make this a happy farewell. I am happy and honored to have known each of you. I am happy and honored to have shared laughs, tears and life with each of you. I may not recall what I had for breakfast today, but I will not forget you! As a sportsman, let me close with some advice. I encourage my fellow golfers to keep your head down. For my fellow bowlers, always follow through. And for all my friends, live well and laugh hard!" George sustained his love of life, family and golf in Georgia. He participated in and won the local Senior Olympics putting competition in 2010, and took second place in 2011. All four of his children were with George his final month of life. The family will host a funeral service at the First United Methodist Church of Glen Ellyn, Illinois, 424 Forest Avenue, on Saturday, September 10 at 2:00 pm, followed by a reception and then interment at Forest Hill Cemetery. The family requests that those who wish to make a memorial donation in George's name may do so to the Glen Ellyn Historical Society, P.O. Box 283, Glen Ellyn, Illinois 60138 ([email protected]), or to the Glenbard West Boosters, P.O. Box 154, Glen Ellyn, Illinois 60138 (gwboosters.com).