Grants mourns loss of teacher

By Jim Tiffin
Staff Writer

GRANTS — She was the cornerstone and lifeblood of her family.

Tamara Jean Spears, a well-respected and well-liked teacher at Grants High School, suddenly became ill on May 29 and died three days later with no one knowing what caused the illness. She was 46.

She was married to Tom Spears, a science teacher at GHS who also coaches golf. They were married for 12 years.

"We finished each other's sentences, we just enjoyed being with each other," Tom Spears said.

Mrs. Spears taught at GHS for the past eight years. She taught "teenage living and early childhood development."

"Our family life could not have been better," he said.

"We had lunch together every day at school. It was great being able to teach together."

Spears said he and Mrs. Spears could just sit on the porch reading books and just enjoy each other's company.

It was the second marriage for both of them, he said.

Spears said he is now relying on the love and support of his friends, family, ex-golfers, students and all the wonderful people in town to get through this difficult time.

"My wife was a cheerleader for the kids. Any kid that had a problem, she was there for them. She had a positive outlook on life," he said

Rick Horacek, GHS principal, said Mrs. Spears was an outstanding teacher who went far beyond working in the classroom with students.

"She spent many hours after school and on Saturdays, everything she did was to make our school better," he said.

"Her personality and who she was, along with what she did in the classroom, made her contributions better."

Grants-Cibola County Schools Superintendent Kilino Marquez said Mrs. Spears was a model teacher.

"Her passion and her love of working with students was so obvious," he said.

"She had a special relationship with these kids," he said.

Marquez said he was amazed at the number of students and former students who attended her viewing Friday and her funeral service Saturday.

Tom Spears said he will return to teaching at GHS in the fall.

Mrs. Spears was co-salutatorian of her 1976 GHS class and graduated from University of New Mexico with bachelor's degree in education.

She was a member of First Baptist Church of Grants.

She taught for a total of 17 years in the Grants-Cibola School District and three years in parochial schools, Spears said. Her remains will be cremated later this week.