Mont Clair Spear, 85, Ex-FBI Agent, Lawyer, Active Kiwanian
Federal Bureau of Investigation agent Mont Clair Spear may not have solved the kidnapping case he was assigned to the Northwest to work on in 1939 but he discovered the part of the country he wanted to settle in after his FBI years were over.
When that time came, Spear, an attorney, returned to Seattle and established a private law practice, which he maintained in the downtown Jones Building, across the street from the Main Post Office, until 1980.
Spear, known to his family and friends as ``Monty,'' died Sunday in an Olympia nursing home. He was 85.
After earning an undergraduate degree from the University of Kansas at Lawrence in 1926, and a law degree three years later, he practiced law in Kansas City, Mo.
During 12 years with the FBI, he served as a supervisor in Washington, D.C., and was assigned to the Northwest to assist in solving the kidnapping of a prominent Tacoma physician's young son.
``The young boy's body was eventually found in Everett, but the FBI never found the kidnapper,'' said Spear's widow, Mary Lou Spear.
The Spears, however, found the Northwest to their liking. ``He was sent out here and we fell in love with the Northwest and made up our minds that someday we'd come back here to live,'' Mary Lou Spear said.
Spear enrolled in a law refresher course at the University of Washington, ``and passed the (state) bar the first time. I was so tickled with him,'' his wife said. He also was admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Spears lived in Seattle from 1947 to 1980. They later moved to the Panorama City retirement community in Lacey, where Spear lived until moving to the Olympia nursing home. His wife still lives in Lacey.
During his Seattle years, he was active in Boy Scouts of America. He was a member of the Wyandotte Masonic Lodge in Kansas City. He was a Legion of Honor member of the Order of DeMolay, and the Society of Former Special Agents of the FBI.
He was a past president of the Seattle Genealogy Society and the Highline Kiwanis Club. He had a 30-year perfect attendance record in Kiwanis, his wife said, adding, ``Everywhere we went - Japan, Amsterdam, and even aboard a cruise ship - he always managed to find a Kiwanis club to attend.
``At sea, he would attend service club days to keep up his attendance,''she said.
Besides his wife, he is survived by a son, John Spear, Long Beach, Calif.; a daughter, Cindy Hepworth in Amman, Jordan, and two grandchildren.
A private memorial service is planned in Kansas City. The family suggests remembrances to Unity Church, 1335 Fern St., Olympia, 98502.