Sylvia J. Speer

Sylvia J. Speer made her transition on November 5, 2014 in the loving presence of the family who will always cherish her. Sylvia was born on July 31, 1929 in Belding, MI, near Grand Rapids, to Victor Hans and Leila Ferne Marsh Petersen. In 1948, after helping her parents move to Tucson, AZ, she got a job at JC Penney to pay for her trip back to Michigan. It is there she met the love of her life, Phil Speer. She stayed in Tucson, and they were married on November 5, 1948. Exactly 66 years later on the very same day, they were reunited in the hereafter. During their life together, they nurtured a family that includes five children, ten grandchildren and 13 (and counting) great-grandchildren. Together Sylvia and Phil owned and operated a successful wholesale school supply and drugstore sundry company called Lollesgard Specialty Company. Way ahead of her time, Sylvia questioned and rejected gender-biased divisions of labor and pervasive notions of a woman's role in society. As a result, she devoted herself to her family and fulltime career simultaneously, bridging gaps and enjoying a life that to this day remains elusive for many women. Sylvia did everything passionately. She leaned into life. No moment was too mundane for her to mine great joy and immense fun. A Celebration of this remarkable woman will be held on Saturday, December 20, 2014 at 4:00 p.m. at Discovery Community Church, 1644 S. Lindsay, Gilbert, AZ 85295. There will also be a graveside gathering during interment on Monday, the 22nd at 2:00 at the National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona, 23029 N. Cave Creek Rd. in Phoenix.