William F. “Bill” Spears, 83, of Cherokee passed away on Friday, Nov. 21, 2025, at Cherokee Regional Medical Center.
Funeral services were held on Wednesday, Nov. 26, at Boothby Funeral Home in Cherokee. Burial was in Oak Hill Cemetery at Cherokee. Online condolences may be left at www.boothbyfuneral.com.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials in Bill's honor to the Quimby Golf Course.
Bill was born on Dec. 7, 1941, to Joyce and Jean (Reck) Spears at Shamokin, Penn. He graduated from Shamokin High School in 1960. He received the 6th man All-State high school basketball honors. He earned basketball scholarships to continue his education at both Independence Junior College and Yankton College. He earned a bachelor's degree in education from Yankton College in 1965. He was inducted into the Yankton College Hall of Fame in 2014 for his basketball career.
He was united in marriage to Janice Strehlow on June 4, 1966, at Geddes, S.D. Bill taught at Canistota High School in South Dakota for two years before moving to Cherokee in 1967. He worked at Immaculate Conception High School for two years and then began as a teacher at the Cherokee Mental Health Institute for 30 years until his retirement in 2001.
Bill loved playing golf, basketball, softball and bowling. He enjoyed watching almost all sports. He volunteered at the Cherokee Tomahawk Relays for many years. He got a hole-in-one, finally, while golfing with friends in Branson, Mo.
He was preceded in death by his parents; mother-in-law and father-in-law, Lillian and Floyd Strehlow; siblings: John Spears, James Spears and Genevieve “Jeanne” Spears; and sister-in-law Mary (Strehlow) Zacharias.
Bill will be lovingly remembered by his wife Janice Spears of Cherokee; three children: Debra (Kevin) Trojanowski of Bellevue, Neb.; Jason Spears of Larrabee; and Tom (Charlotte Minor) of Lennox, S.D.; five grandchildren: Alex (Mya Flores) Trojanowski, Dahlia Trojanowski, Tim Trojanowski, Mae Trojanowski and Halie (Jason Hammer) Spears; two great-grandchildren, Amara and Archie Trojanowski; brother Robert Spears of Shamokin, Penn.; brothers-in-law, Donald “Doc” Kerstetter of Shamokin, Penn., and Jim Zacharias of Wagner, S.D.; brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Richard (Roberta) Strehlow of Geddes, S.D.; also many nieces, nephews and friends.
