August 12, 1938 - November 12, 2024 Sierra Madre, CA Rodney Ben Spears passed away on November 12, 2024 at his longtime home in Sierra Madre, CA.

He was born onAugust 12, 1938 in Los Angeles, to Mary Carboch and Ben Spears.

He worked his way through college as a Los Angeles County Lifeguard, where he caught the eye of Joan Marie Sheldon, a member of the Los Angeles Athletic Club swim team. They were married in 1957.

Rod completed his degree in Civil Engineering at California State University Los Angeles and went to work for one of his professors. His first project was working on the iconic Space Needles in Seattle. While working and growing his family, Rod continued his studies at Pacific Oaks College, pursuing a Master's degree in Sociology.

During his long and diverse career, he worked on the Disney Castle at Walt Disney World, the Queen Mary in Long Beach and served for many years as a Forensic Structural Engineer. Rod was also a member of the Los Angeles County Urban Search and Rescue Team and served with them in Oklahoma City after the bombing of the Federal Building. He used his knowledge and skills to ensure that the site was safe for the search and rescue teams and their dogs to perform their operations.

Rod's life-long activism led him to participate in the Selma to Montgomery, Alabama march with Dr. Martin Luther King. In 1966, while raising their own family, Rod and Joan created a summer pre-school program at All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena for children from the local communities. The following year the program was extended to St. Mark's in Altadena, For their endeavors, All Saints recognized the Spears as Congregants of the Year.

Rod and Joan raised their five children in La Canada, where he was instrumental in starting the La Canada High School soccer program. He was an active parent, coaching his daughter Lisa's soccer team, traveling to watch his son Mark compete for USC in crew, his son Christopher play soccer at Westmont College, and his son Jonathan fence and cycle at Cal State Long Beach. His wold revolved around his children. Then came his dogs. Oh he loved his dogs. Over the years, he had atotal of eight Golden Retrievers and two Malti-poo terriers, all of them older rescues. Rod and Joan believed in saving the older dogs that were often unwanted and that no dog should die from loneliness, but rather be loved until the end.

In addition to his family Rod had agroup of friends from his high school that enjoyed getting together every year. These cherished friendships truly passed the test of time.

In 2000 Rod and Joan moved to Sierra Madre, where they lovingly restored their 1912 Craftsman home. Fulfilling achildhood dream -atthe age of 65 - Rod joined the Sierra Madre Volunteer Fire Department, where he served for 5 years. An avid reader himself Rod served two terms as a Library Trustee. In 2016, Rod and Joan were named Citizens of the Year. Rumor has it there was a Conga Line at the dinner in their honor.

A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date.

Donations in his memory may be made to: A Purposeful Rescue, P.O. Box 351901, Los Angeles, CA, 90035; https:www.apurposfulrescue.org or Friends of the Sierra Madre Library, P.O. Box 334, Sierra Madre, CA 91025; http//sierramadrelibraryfriends.org/