Gloria H. Spears

Gloria Hill Spears, after a lengthy and courageous battle with cancer, and surrounded by family, Gloria passed into the loving embrace of her parents, William I. and Fannie (Monroe) Hill and brother William E. Hill at South County Hospital on Monday, January 28, 2013. Born in Philadelphia on April 6, 1922, Gloria was a life long resident of Narragansett, spending her childhood and later her adult years in a house built by her father William. Graduating from Virginia State College in 1945, where she earned a degree in Sociology, she took employment with the Providence Dept. of Public Welfare that same year until beginning a career spanning 27 years with Children’s Friend and Service in Providence. Married to Donald H. Spears, who survives her, at the Pond Street Baptist Church in Providence on January 26, 1949, the couple had recently observed their 63rd wedding anniversary. She was the extraordinarily proud mother of daughters Linda Susan Spears of Upper Marlboro, MD, Sylvia Carolle Spears of Hanover, NH, and son David Hill Spears of Narragansett and equally proud grandmother of Nicole Michelle Minetti and Asa John Peters. Gloria’s life was exemplary for her unflagging dedication to the service of others and the advancement of social justice and political causes. Among her many accomplishments were memberships or service with the Rhode Island Commission on Minority Affairs, the Rhode Island and National Women’s Political Caucus, the Rhode Island Governor’s Commission on Mental Health, the Rhode Island League of Women Voters, the White House Conference on Families, the Narragansett Town and Rhode Island Democratic State Committee, among many others. Of particular pride was her role in founding the Minority Adoption Project, and serving on the Board of Directors for Ocean Tides. She was likewise active with the Providence Chapter of C.H.U.M.S., serving as National Parlimentarian for three years, the Tuskeegee Airmen’s Association, and Alpha Kappa Alpha. Her services to the people of the Ocean State culminated on May 10, 1984 when then Governor J. Joseph Garrahy issued a proclamation in her honor and declared that day as “Gloria Spears Day.” She was further honored by the State when she was appointed as a member of the Electoral College and proudly cast one of four delegate votes for William Clinton. But perhaps one of her proudest moments and one that defined the evolution of her life and the very fabric of American Society occurred in her 86th year when she traveled by train from Kingston to Washington, DC to witness the inauguration of Barack Obama as this nation’s first African-American President armed with tickets provided by Rhode Island’s Congressional delegation. As she then explained to a reporter from the South County Independent, “I got choked up at times… There’s so much camaraderie going on here. Oh, the exhilaration, the feeling of being connected….” Family and friends are invited to calling hours scheduled for on Friday, February 1st from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Avery-Storti Funeral Home, 88 Columbia St., Wakefield (401-783-7271). Memorial services will be observed on Saturday, February 2nd at 10 a.m. A private burial will follow. Family members request that donations be made to the following in lieu of flowers: N.A.H.C. on behalf of the Inez Sprague Fund, Narragansett Town Hall, 25 Fifth Ave., Narragansett, RI 02882. Providence Chapter of C.H.U.M.S., Inc. – Constance Edmonds Scholarship Fund, care of Anita Turner, 190 Grosvenor Ave., East Providence, RI 02914.