Thomas Spear, 72, of Vero Beach, passed away on Oct. 18, 2014.
He is survived by his wife, four children, four grandchildren, and his loving extended family and friends.
He was preceded in death by his parents, two sisters, and his first wife.
Spear was born in September of 1942 in Highland Park, Mich., to Adrian Gil Spear and wife Betty Spear.
He graduated from Case Institute of Technology with a Bachelor’s degree. He continued his studies at the University of Michigan, where he earned an M.B.A. He was married to the late Janice Kozak for 20 years.
He later married Bonnie Smith, who survives him in their marriage of 25 years. He worked at Ford Motor Company in the Detroit area for 32 years in a variety of technical and managerial roles.
He moved to Vero Beach in 1998 with his wife and two of his children. While in Florida, he contributed his knowledge and advice to hundreds of entrepreneurs by volunteering at SCORE as a small business consultant and by teaching at IRSC.
Throughout his life, Spear loved windsurfing, tennis, traveling, camping, swimming, building fires, Sudoku, skiing, crossword puzzles and, most of all, being a husband, parent, and grandparent.
His children saw him as a paragon of integrity and as a role model. He was a man who put his whole heart into everything he did, most especially ensuring the success and happiness of his loved ones. He will be missed.
