George Houston Spears

Mr. Spears was an amazing teacher. I so loved working on Echo magazine with him at South Mountain High School. When I became a teacher in 1972 I modeled much of what I did in the classroom after his style. He was fun, friendly and caring. I have very found memories of him. I've now taught high school for nearly 40 years (Speech, Theatre and English). I hope I did you proud Mr. Spears!!!

A Limerick for Mr. Spears

There once was a teacher named Spears,
Whose humor...

He was my English teacher for one year at South. He was demanding but fair. . My class, '62', was very pleased when he and his wife came to one of our reunions. I didn't realize at the time that he was only twelve years older than us. It wasn't until I became a teacher late in life that I came to appreciate the gifts he and other teachers gave to us. Lee Mischlispy Kaplan

Great teacher at South and good tennis coach! RIP

Mr. Spears was, by far, my favorite English teacher. I had him as a freshman at South Mountain High School. He made learning fun and challenged me in ways I had never been challenged before. I remember going to ASU to see the play, Antigone, with our class and that was probably the first time I had ever been exposed to Greek literature. I also remember the tiny violin he would take out and play when someone had a sob story. I still smile to this day about that. He is one of the reasons I too...

Peachy Keen RIP

One of my favorite teachers at South Mountain High. He will be missed.

Mrs. Spears and girls: My thoughts and prayers are with you during this difficult time.

This is Eleanor again. I posted his obituary on Facebook in our "Old Time South Phoenix Folks" and "South Mountain HS 1968" groups. Here are the responses I've received so far.

I never had Mr. Spears for a teacher, but I do remember him. Never heard anything negative about him and everyone said he was great teacher. R.I.P. Mr. Spears.
Bruce Black

So sad to hear about the passing of George Spears. He was my Golf Coach at South High, great man and coach, always loved to laugh....

He was such a fun teacher! Loved being in his class, even when he gave me an F- on a test! He knew I hadn't read the assignment and just made up answers. I would like to share a story he told us that taught a lesson that has stayed with me for 50 years.

One of his students hated a group of people, because of a bad experience with one person. During class one day, a dog made it up the stairs and walked by Mr. Spears' open door. He went out, picked up the dog, and threatened to throw it...