Biography: James Wm. Spears, age 74, of Little Rock, died at home early Sunday morning, September 7, 2008. He is survived by his wife of twenty-one years, Susanne, and his sister, Sue Wilson of Emporia, Kansas. Jim was born on July 21, 1934 in Jasper, Arkansas to James Franklin and Constance Cooper Spears. He was raised by his aunt and uncle, Elizabeth and Guy Moore. He graduated from Jasper Public School in 1948, and then began attending Arkansas Tech at Russellville. He transferred to the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville where he joined the Phi Kappa Alpha fraternity in 1956 and graduated in 1958 with a B.S. in Industrial Engineering. He then returned to Jasper where he worked for several years in his uncle’s abstract office. Jim was the grandson, nephew and husband of lawyers. He returned to Fayetteville and entered the Arkansas Law School from which he graduated first in his class, received a Bachelor of Laws in 1964 and a Juris Doctor in 1969. He earned a Master of Laws in 1972 from the University of Texas in Austin. Jim began his law practice in Harrison in 1964 at the firm of Walker, Villines, and Spears, but in 1965 he accepted a position as assistant professor at the Fayetteville Law School. He transferred to the new Little Rock division in 1966, remained through the school’s transition to UALR in 1975, and retired from teaching at the beginning of 2003. In 1976, Jim received UALR’s outstanding teaching award. He served in the 1971 Arkansas Constitution Convention, and he observed his 50th year as a 32nd degree Mason this year. A memorial service will be conducted by Rabbi Eugene Levy of congregation B’nai Israel at Ruebel Funeral Home, 2:00 p.m., Wednesday, September 10. Memorials may be made to Feline Rescue and Rehome (FURR), P.O. Box 250567, Little Rock, AR 72225. Arrangements by Ruebel Funeral Home, www.ruebelfuneralhome.com. The obituary Jim wanted was “Nuff said, he’s dead.”
Self deprecating with a razor sharp wit and humble manner, I treasure my memories of him.