Glenn Marion Spear, age 90, of Hammond, WI, passed away December 26, 2022 at Hammond Health Services. Glenn was born on August 26, 1932 in Chester, SD to John and Sena (Mjoen) Spear. He attended the Allen Country School in Coleman, SD while helping on the family farm. Glenn joined the U.S. Army and served as a Corporal during the Korean War before his honorable discharge and transfer to the Army Reserve. Glenn liked telling the story of when he was joking with Joe DiMaggio while guarding Marilyn Monroe’s tent while she was entertaining the troops. He was united in marriage to Alice Yanish on March 16, 1957 at St. Bridget’s Catholic Church in River Falls, and the couple was blessed with three children, Timothy, James and Cynthia. Glenn worked as a mechanic at the Pontiac garage and then the Ford garage in River Falls, and also spent time as a heavy machine operator before becoming a farmer. Glenn first raised beef cattle for several years before transitioning to dairy cattle and growing crops. He worked hard, but enjoyed providing for his family.

Glenn possessed a kind heart and was always willing to drop what he was doing to help someone else. He truly cared for the wellbeing of others and enjoyed making people laugh. Glenn’s passion was fixing engines and doing mechanic work. He had the gift of experience and always seemed to be able to diagnose a vehicle’s complicated problems with just his ears. Glenn only drove Fords and when family members bought another make, he would frown on the new purchase. He enjoyed fishing and hunting for deer, squirrels, raccoons and rabbits, and was fond of telling stories of his past, like the time he lost his pilot’s license for showing off by either flying under powerlines or the Hudson bridge. Glenn seemed to have more than nine lives as he experienced his fair share of medical issues: from getting shot several times, almost losing his feet, and being exposed to napalm all while in the military, to a long list of ailments as he grew older. He was a longtime member of the River Falls Moose Lodge 594, the American Legion Post 432 in Hammond and the Veterans Affairs (VA).

Glenn will remain in the hearts of his beloved wife of 65 years, Alice; children, Timothy Spear and Cindy (Pete) Gibbs; grandchildren, Richard (Alyssa) Spear, Robert (Holly) Spear, Nicole (Kaylen) Roggenbuck, Dillon Gibbs, and Samantha Gibbs; siblings, Betty Johnson, Joyce Wells, Dean Spear, and Jean Jewett; and many other relatives and friends. He is preceded in death by his son, James; his parents; brothers, John “Jack” (Eleanor) Spear, and Roy Spear; and siblings-in-law, Bert Johnson, Ray Wells, and Doris Spear.

A Mass of Christian Burial for Glenn will be at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, January 4, 2023 at St. Mary’s Immaculate Conception Church, 1265 Ridge Way, Hammond, WI. Visitation will be held from 3:00-7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, January 3, at the O’Connell Family Funeral Home, 1010 Newton St., Baldwin, WI, and one hour prior to the service at the church on Wednesday. Interment at St. Bridget’s Cemetery in River Falls.