Harriet Mears

1921 - 2019

Harriet Mears

Springfield - 1921-2019

Harriet Elizabeth Murray Mears passed away at the age of 97 on March 18, 2019 in Springfield, Missouri. She was born October 9, 1921 in Brooklyn, New York to Esther Ross Murray and Edward Boswell Murray. Her father died when she was young and her mother Esther Ross Murray and her aunt Harriet "Hattie" M. Murray raised her to have a deep appreciation of museums and the theater.

She attended William & Mary University studying fine art, sculpture and art history. She received her Bachelor's degree in Fine Arts in 1942 alongside her future husband Richard "Dick" McMath Mears. Harriet and Richard were married in Brooklyn, New York 1946.

Harriet spent her life surrounded by books, textiles and art and shared her love of art with her family, friends, and students. She loved traveling, theatre, gardening, and reading.

She taught weaving and Art History at Drury University for several decades. While living in Boone, North Carolina in the 1950's, she was introduced to traditional weaving at Watauga Industries. Following this introduction, she was self-taught in advanced weaving techniques. Her weaving work was exhibited in Springfield area art galleries; she was an active member of the Springfield Fiber Artists group, which met at the Drury Weaving Studio each month. She built the weaving program at Drury, teaching beginning and advanced weaving courses every semester. She commented to the Springfield Business Journal in 1985 that she "like[d] to see people do something they haven't done before…to do something for themselves." She was a leader and advocate for the Drury weaving studio and the arts in general.

She had a passion for costume design, volunteering her technical, creative, and leadership skills to the Drury student theater and contributing to numerous plays and productions. She was the first costume designer for the Drury Drama Department from 1967 to 1978.

She began lecturing in Art History in 1980 and taught courses in Medieval, Renaissance, and Asian art. She had a particular passion for art and architecture and traveled widely throughout her life visiting Europe, Africa, Asia, and South America. She and her husband Richard frequently volunteered to take students abroad with them in their travels.

She officially retired in 1990, but continued her commitment and connection to Drury for the remainder of her life. In 1992, on the nomination of former students, Drury awarded her an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters in "recognition of her numerous academic, scholarly, and community contributions" to the university. In 2012, the university dedicated the Harriet Mears Weaving Studio at the Drury on C-Street Studio to her.

She was a member of St. John's Episcopal Church where she was a Lay Reader and Chalice Bearer. She was also a Democratic Committeewoman for Greene County, Missouri.

Her unwavering commitment to knowledge and learning continued throughout her life.

Her husband, Richard McMath Mears, precedes Harriet Murray Mears in death. She is survived by her son, Phillip Mears and his wife Julia Mears of Iowa City, Iowa; her daughter Ellen Mears Kennedy and her husband Leonard J. Kennedy of Bethesda, Maryland; granddaughters Margaret "Maggie" Mears of Iowa City, Iowa; Julia Kennedy of Los Angeles, California; Emma McMath Kennedy of Evanston, Illinois; and Catherine "Katie" Mears and her spouse Elisabeth Snell, and their son Christopher Phillip Mears-Snell of Portland, Maine.

A memorial service will be held at St. John's Episcopal Church in Springfield, MO for Harriet Mears on Saturday, May 11th, at 11:00 am. In lieu of flowers, gifts can be made to Episcopal Relief & Development and/or the Dr. Richard Mears Endowed Scholarship, Drury University.