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Spearman, Gene "Sonny"

March 20, 1943 –
 September 8, 2015

Obituary

Gene “Sonny” Spearman passed away on Tuesday, September 8, 2015 at the age of 72.  Born in Little Rock, Arkansas to Gene and Elaine Spearman, he spent the entirety of his life as an avid Arkansas Razorbacks fan. After moving to Dallas, Texas early in his adult life, he became an integral part of many noteworthy local and state organizations.  He worked in Executive Administration for the City of Dallas Parks and Recreation Department from 1966-1994. He was a former Board member of Boys Baseball Incorporated (BBI) and Past President, Auctioneer, and long-time active member of the Texas Recreation and Park Society (TRAPS).  His love of sports afforded him the opportunity to work in various capacities at Reunion Arena and American Airlines Center for the Dallas Stars and the Dallas Mavericks, Texas Stadium for the Dallas Cowboys, and the Cotton Bowl for the Cotton Bowl Classic and other venue events. He was also well-known for his role as Santa Claus.  He spent all of his extra time in November and December of each year performing as a professional Santa for local professional sports teams, the DeGoyer Estate in the Dallas Arboretum, numerous charities, private organizations and families.   As the official City of Dallas Santa for many years, he hosted the City of Dallas Downtown Tree Lighting arriving in a variety of ways including, but not limited to, motorcycle, fire truck, helicopter, and sleigh! He loved the city of Dallas and this was most evident in his passion for and commitment to The Great State Fair of Texas.  He most recently served as the Entertainment Coordinator and Stage Manager and, with over 40 years of service to the State Fair, he was known and loved by countless numbers of employees and patrons alike. He is survived by his immediate family (Terry Spearman, David and Heather Spearman, Steve and Kristin Nelson, his five grandsons Addison, Milo, Keaton, Cameron, and Vaughn) and a large network of extended family and friends. A Celebratory Gathering will take place from 1 to 3:30pm on Friday September 18, 2015 at The Foundry (2303 Pittman Street Dallas, TX 75208); followed by another celebratory gathering beginning at 4:30pm at the DoubleWide (3510 Commerce Dallas, TX 75226).  Family and friends are invited to attend both, or chose which one fits their schedule. Arrangements under the direction of: ARIA Cremation Service & Funeral Home 10116 E Northwest Highway Dallas, TX 75238 214-340-8008

    Terry Spearman
    11 Sep 2015
    2:16pm

    I would like to acknowledge everyone that has or will contact our family. The remembrances, antidotes, stories already shared are heartfelt. Thank you for sharing them with us.

    Prudence Mahaffey Mackintosh
    13 Sep 2015
    11:11am

    Gene was a great friend in my high school days, as were all of the Spearmans. I loved his Mom and Dad. Mrs. Spearman was my junior English teacher. My grandchildren will always believe in Santa because of the actual sighting they had one lovely Christmas Eve at my house. What a jolly grand St. Nick he was and is!

    Bo Weaver
    13 Sep 2015
    11:57am

    Nancy, so sorry for your loss. I met Sonny when your dad was the music director at Pleasant Grove First Baptist Church. May God bless you and your family.

    Ron Adams
    13 Sep 2015
    3:35pm

    Terry, I am sorry for your loss. I know Gene will be missed by his sister, kids, grandkids, other family members, and his many friends.

    Barbara and Bert Scott
    13 Sep 2015
    9:20pm

    Our thoughts and prayers are with the family. He was a wonderful person and a great friend. We loved him and will miss him!!

    John and Frances Phillips
    13 Sep 2015
    11:32pm

    We have wonderful memories of Gene. He was a generous, kind, and trustworthy friend. John worked with a Gene for 20 years at Dallas Park and Recreation. They had hilarious stories to tell on one another and about one another! In recent years we saw Gene mainly at the State Fair. He was most fortunate to lead such an interesting and varied life–from administrator to grandfather to Santa, he loved each role he played. We will miss him and his wonderful smile.

    Betty Orellana
    14 Sep 2015
    7:39am

    My brother Sonny will always be Santa Claus! I remember all of our family Christmases,when after Dad read Luke 2 while the grand kids acted out the manger scene, we would all wait so anxiously for the “Old man with the long white beard” to make his appearance! We’d sing Jingle Bells and Santa would knock on the sliding glass door and we would all scream with excitement and be thinking of what we could tell Santa when he’d call us up to sit in his lap. It was kinda scary because you never knew what Santa Sonny would say about you!
    I’m so thankful that Santa came to see Nate and Ray, Doug’s sons,at my house on Christmas 2012.
    Sonny always showed a genuine interest in my life, and he always cared. He helped me one time when my chihuahua needed a “C”Section. I told him that I needed to borrow money for the costly operation or Princess would die! I promised to pay him back when my paycheck came. At first he said, “Well, Betty, we love our animals but sometimes we have to let them go! I said, “But Sonny, Princessa is my family! He told me to hurry up and come get the money before he changed his mind! Princessa and her baby Alyse are here because of Sonny!
    I’m gonna miss his snow village displayed proudly on his kitchen table and the beautiful Christmas tree decorated by him and Terry! I love him so much and I miss him. I know that I will see him again, so this is just “goodbye” for awhile.

    Cortez Cason
    18 Sep 2015
    1:23pm

    Condolences to your family and may God bless them during these trying times.

    Gene,
    Haven’t seen you in a while, but thought of you often. Rest well old friend.

    Cortez Cason

    Bill Dawson
    9 Mar 2016
    3:49pm

    Gene and I were great friends. Roommates at Ouachita Bapt. Univ. and both loved sports. He spent the summer of 63’at my parents house and they grew to love him too. I will sorely miss you my dear friend!

    Bill Horn
    12 Jul 2018
    11:18am

    I was so sad to read about the passing of Gene Spearman. He and I attended Levi Fry Jr. High School in Texas City back in the late 50’s. We played on the football team attended the First Baptist Church, and “ran around together back in the day.” He was a great person. I remember his oldest sister always singing a song called “At The Foot of the Bed.

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"Nothing prepares you for the grief you go through when losing a child. I called this funeral home at 2:00 am broken and could barely talk. The amount of compassion and empathy they showed me immediately let me know I found the right place to cremate my son. I cannot thank them enough for their professionalism, SINCERE concern, and commitment to making sure my son was honored in the most respectful way. I hope this Funeral home values her as much as my family and I do."
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"Wayne and Staff, thank you for taking care of the arrangements for our mom, Exter McGee and our dad, Philip McGee. You have been great to work with during such a difficult time."
Elledge Family
Elledge Family
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"On behalf of my family, I wanted you to know how much we appreciate your handling of my husband's final arrangements. Wayne Baxter assisted & guided us through the entire process with such care & compassion. Don't know what we would have done without him! Sincerely, Colleen Elledge"
The Peterson Family
The Peterson FamilyYelp! Review - Northwest Highway 5-Stars
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"I can’t say enough about how helpful and professional Dusty Martin, the funeral director at the Aria Cremation location on NW Highway has been. From my initial call, he was kind and informative. My friend died at home while on hospice and she was picked up in about an hour after receiving the call from the hospice nurse. The person who arrived to pick her up was also very professional/respectful and allowed us to take as much time with her as we wished. When I met with Dusty the next day about arrangements, he explained the process and options available without being pushy or trying to “sell” extras. Throughout the process, he kept me informed and, for example, was careful to be certain I understood the cost of the obituary I wanted and offered some options for reducing that cost if I wished. When I stopped by for another reason and started talking about some of the problems I was having with the pictures and media I hoped to use at a memorial lunch I was planning, he not only listened patiently but offered technology advice and let me use his personal media player. I have had experience arranging cremations for four others using two other local companies, and this experience with Dusty at Aria has been by far the best one I have had."
Paula Barnes
Paula BarnesGoogle Review
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"My Daddy’s service and our family experience at Aria Northwest Highway was truly blessed. Funeral Director Dustin Martin is the kind of person that you would like to see on a more regular basis – but in his industry – you hope to not see him that often. That being said – THANK YOU DUSTIN for your unending kindness, compassion and friendship through the process. Meeting you and discussing Dallas History, Find A Grave and my Dad’s lifelong contributions to the great City of Dallas was simply wonderful! In memory of my dad James A. Dodd, Sr. – I want to personally thank you and let you know that you made everything better in that moment. Your calling to “Be There” is spot on. Aria has a one in a million guy in you! Bling Blinky of TEXAS Shout Out: God Bless You!!"
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