Jane Challenger Spear

Jane Challenger Spear, 94, of Vestavia Hills, Alabama, passed peacefully into the waiting arms of her beloved Savior, Lord and Shepherd, Jesus Christ, on September 10, 2015 following a lengthy illness. She will be greatly missed by those who knew and loved her for her kindness, her courage, her humility, her wit, her honesty, her intelligence, and her love for God and people. Her life was a dance to the gospel song, “If I Can Help Somebody.”

Mrs. Spear was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on July 26, 1921. She attended business college there, then worked for Bell Telephone Company until her marriage to Andrew Franklin Spear, Jr. in 1950. The couple settled in Birmingham, Alabama where they raised four children. She returned to the telephone company to work until her retirement in 1986.

She was an active member of Briarwood Presbyterian Church and loved sharing the good news of Christ with others. She loved life and enjoyed playing the piano, singing, traveling, and visiting with friends and family. She also enjoyed poetry and word games, winning a spelling bee for Senior Citizens. She expressed her love and compassion for women and children in crisis by doing volunteer work for Sav-A-Life Birmingham in its early days.

Mrs. Spear was a very down to earth person who had mastered the balance between accepting with grace the things she could not change while constantly seeking ways to constructively change the things she could not accept. This wisdom helped her to survive with grace several severe trials which befell her during her long and well-lived life.

She was preceded in death by her husband; her parents, Leah and Russell T. Challenger; her brothers, Bill and Ted Challenger; and her youngest son, William C. Spear. She is survived by her daughters, Janet Spear and Martha Darden (Jim); a son, Andrew Franklin Spear III (Sheryl) of Pelham, Alabama; and grandchildren, James Darden (Candice), David Darden (Amber), Andrew Spear lV (Amy), Katie Horton (Ryan), and Emily Davis (Keith); and by a growing number of great-grandchildren.

The family especially wishes to thank Amedisys Home Health Care, Carissa Williams, Dr. Herbert P. Walker, Jr., and many others who helped care for Mrs. Spear throughout her illness, significantly improving the length and quality of her life.

Visitation with family will be from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Monday, September 14, 2015 at Ridout's Southern Heritage Funeral Home in Pelham, and a service celebrating Mrs. Spear's life will be at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, September 15, 2015 in the funeral home's chapel.

In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to Sav-A-Life Birmingham or to Operation Smile.