John B Speer

John B. Speer, 86, of Slippery Rock, passed away Saturday, July 25, 2020, at AHN Grove City due to complications following hip replacement surgery.

John was born March 21, 1934, in Harrisville. He was the son of the late William Kennedy Speer and the late Kathleen Ruth Hogue Speer.

John attended Harrisville High School and later graduated from Slippery Rock Area High School in 1952.

He was a member of West Liberty United Methodist Church.

His vocation was a machinist at Cooper Bessemer in Grove City, and he was part of the management team as well.

John was active in his community as a participant in the Harrisville Community Band, serving as director from 1970 to 1971, as a Past Master of Cedar Lodge 800 Masonic Lodge in Grove City, and as one of the organizers and early officers of the Slippery Rock Alumni Association.

John was very passionate about camping and boating on the Allegheny River near Kittanning. In his retirement, he claimed he was assigned from Memorial Day to Labor Day as a river watch special agent. If the river was to ever start to flow backward, he was to report to the home office of the National Park and Recreation Department. He performed the task very well, rarely missing a weekend at the river.

John is survived by one daughter, Kathleen (Buzz) Canady of Wyo.; one son, Kenneth W. Speer of Slippery Rock; four grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; and four great-great-grandchildren. Three sisters, Ruth Ella Jaskol of Grove City, Janet Barnes of Harrisville and Mary Frances Parry of Austintown; one brother, David (Andrea) Speer of New Castle, Del.; one sister-in-law, Gladys Speer of Slippery Rock; and a number of nieces and nephews also survive.

John is preceded in death by his wife, Garnet P. McDeavitt Speer, whom he married March 21, 1953 and who died Sept. 29, 2013; and one brother, William A. Speer.

SPEER — Due to the current COVID-19 Pandemic, a Celebration of Life service for John B. Speer, who died Saturday, July 25, 2020, will be held at a date and time to be determined.

Arrangements entrusted to Young Funeral Home of Butler.

The family suggests that memorial donations be made to support the research and the cure for dementia at the Center for Dementia Research, Nathan S. Kline Institute, 14 Old Orangeburg Road, Orangeburg, N.Y., 10692.

Online condolences may be submitted at www.williamfyoungfh.com.