Adrian M Spears

Adrian Morgan Spears of Portsmouth, OH, passed away on July 29, 2020, age 59. Born in Portsmouth to George and Carolyn Spears on October 22, 1960, Adrian was active in sports and joined the United States Navy after completing his GED in 1982. Adrian served his country in the Navy for nearly 11 years until 1993. During his service, he received advanced training as a field medic and pharmacy technician at the Naval School of Health Sciences, San Diego, CA. He received ribbons for marksmanship with 9mm pistol, .38 caliber pistol and M16 rifle and earned a Sea Service Deployment ribbon (3 stars) and various commendations. He served during the first Gulf War and spent significant portions of his service deployed on submarines near Japan and Kuwait. Adrian was stationed in several parts of the United States including Virginia Beach, VA, New Orleans, LA, Camp Pendleton, CA, and Whidbey Island, WA. After leaving the service, Adrian worked several jobs in the greater Portsmouth area related to his training as a pharmacy technician in the military. He joined the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville, OH, and worked as a prison guard. He applied himself in special training for tracking and emergency response and after retiring he remained in the greater Portsmouth area until the time of his death. Adrian married his first wife, Laura (nee Wood), in 1982 in Portsmouth, OH, and together they had three children, Ely Spears, Jessica Spears and Kyle Spears. Adrian married his second wife, Windy Kuhn of Oak Hill, OH, and though never formally adopting them, Adrian was fond of Windy's children, Dancy, Emily and Hollis and cared for them like his own children. In his later years, Adrian lived with a longtime partner, Dorothy Davis, until the time of her death in 2018. Adrian will be deeply missed by his surviving family, who remember him fondly for his deep love of hiking, hunting, fishing and all things nature. From humble roots in Portsmouth he enthusiastically embraced being both a country and world traveler during his military service and was fond of world cultures and practicing amateur martial arts. Adrian was keenly knowledgeable of guns and took a great interest in teaching gun safety to those around him. As a father to three children, Adrian was a constant presence on the sideline of youth football and basketball games, the audience of spelling bees and science fairs, and the crowd at high school and college graduations. Always one for a well-timed "dad joke," Adrian ensured those surviving him will never forget to read the "destructions" before assembling a piece of furniture or that the one who denied it, in fact, supplied it. Likewise, those who knew Adrian over the course of his life will remember his proactive way of facing tough life lessons head on and the sense of self-determination, self-reliance and embrace for simple wisdom that he held dear. Adrian is preceded in death by his father, George Spears, his mother Carolyn (Gyor) Spears, his grandfather Harold Gyor and grandmother Ivy Gyor, his sister Angelita Kim Storey, his brother-in-law Mark Stewart, his second wife, Windy Kuhn, and his longtime relationship partner Dorothy Davis. He is survived by his sister Andrea McClellan and her husband, his brother-in-law John McClellan, his sister Amy Stewart, his brother-in-law Will Storey, his children Ely Spears, Jessica Spears and Kyle Spears, and many beloved nieces, nephews, grandchildren, cousins, other extended family and friends in the community. Please contact F. C. Daehler funeral home for information regarding a planned memorial service for Adrian. In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests donations be made to Disabled American Veterans at https://www.dav.org/.