Helen C Spear

Helen C. Spear, 97, died March 21, 2026 at Westminster Memory Care, in Austin, Texas surrounded by her adoring family and valued healthcare attendants. She was born in New York City in 1928 to Fannie (nee Zorowitz) and Nathan Charney, who pre-deceased her. Growing up she was surrounded by the large and loving Charney, Zorowitz, and Barnhardt families, who nicknamed her “the Duchess” for a role she played in a school play, and perhaps for other reasons. Helen graduated from Hunter College and married her beloved husband, Irwin Spear, in 1949.

Helen taught elementary school in London and Newton, MA while Irwin was finishing his studies. After completing his post-graduate work at Imperial College, London, in pre-Castro Havana, Cuba, and his PhD from Harvard University, Irwin and Helen moved to Austin and the UT Botany Department in 1953. While raising five children in West Austin, Helen volunteered on the Texas Civil Liberties Union board, fought for Civil Rights and nuclear disarmament, and was an active Democratic Party volunteer supporting “good candidates” from Ralph Yarborough to Lloyd Doggett. For many years, her children, and then grandchildren, could count on a call or later an email from Helen advising which Democrat to support in primary elections. As a Yellow-Dog Democrat, there was no question who one should support in the general election; it was a matter of reminding her folks to “go vote!”

Helen campaigned for Emma Long, the first woman elected to the Austin City Council, and was later appointed to the Austin Library Commission by Emma. Helen served on the City’s Library Commission for 28 years, including time as chair of the commission. Following the UT Tower shooting by a student whose mental health needs were not adequately addressed, the UT Counseling and Mental Health Center was formed to meet the acute and growing mental health concerns of a larger number of students. Helen was selected along with several other women with teaching pedigrees to be trained to become para-professional counselors at the nascent UT counseling center. During her time on staff at UT, Helen and Irwin taught an innovative year-long Plan II Junior Tutorial in Human Sexuality. Although there was a counseling center crisis line staffed 24-hours a day, Helen was always available to her clients by land-line phone, regardless of the hour. She kept up with many clients for years after they left the university, and still gets holiday letters from a few of them.

In addition to her parents, Helen is pre-deceased by her wonderful daughter, Robin Spear Bartone, in 2000, after a valiant fight against metastatic melanoma, and her beloved husband, Professor Irwin Spear, in 2002, following complications from cardiac surgery. She then ran the large house on Pecos Street with aplomb for several years, but she experienced a boost of energy and enthusiasm when she moved into a spacious independent living apartment in Westminster in 2012. The numerous events and activities at WM, as well as serving as the president of the library committee, kept her active and engaged until very recently. Even in the Memory Unit she loved receiving grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Helen is survived by her loving brother Evan (Jane) Charney; her children, Scott (Marie) Spear, Laura (Skip) Noe, Sona (Jerry) Nast, Jodie (Mike) Goldberg; grandchildren, Ben (Iris Cahill Casiano) Spear, Diana (David) Spear Wilson, Philip Spear, Natalie (Lawrence) O’Connor, Neil (Sarah Gerson) Smith, Zach Noe, Megan Noe, Rud (Kelly) Nast, Adam (Shira) Goldberg, Loren (Jacob Gardinier) Goldberg, Evan (Amy) Goldberg, Seth (Stefani) Goldberg, Ethan (Katie) Goldberg; great-grandchildren Alma and Guy O’Connor, Arthur Smith-Gerson, Avia Noe Stasko, Quinn and Julia Nast, Hudson and Henry Goldberg, Ella and Max Goldberg, Denton, Cooper and Sonny Goldberg; and nieces, nephews, grand-nieces and grand-nephews and cousins of several generations.

The family thanks Helen’s wonderful caregivers, who loved her as their own and made the last years of her life comfortable; Jodie, Shewit, Mekdes, Shella and Abenet.

Donations in Helen’s memory may be made to The Library Foundation of the Austin Public Library, the American Civil Liberties Union, and Support Plan II Honors Program.

A memorial service will be held on Sunday, March 29, 2026, 10:30AM at Weed Corley Fish on Parkcrest Dr.