Marina Spears

Marina (Peral Gomez) Spears passed away peacefully at home, to be with Our Lord and Savior, on November 12, 2023. She was born on May 19, 1939 in Calañas, Huelva, Spain, to Domingo Peral Fernandez and Fidela Gomez Romero. She was married for fifty-six years to the love of her life, Charles Hallie Spears.

Charley and Marina had three children. Together they built a life full of faith, love, compassion, and forgiveness. They lived a beautiful life, traveling around the world while in the military, eventually settling in Austin, where Marina  had the closest thing to family in this country the late, James and Helen Laurence, and family.

Mama Spears as she was affectionately known, by many Austin kids, was loved through the years, as her door was always open. No matter if they knew her because she babysat them, they were friends of one of the Spears kids, whether they may have been one of the single parishioners they invited over after a holiday Mass, a co-worker they took in, or a new friend she invited over to share in her love of plants. Marina was a woman of many hats, quite literally as many of you would know. She had been in the convent, a seamstress, a beautician, had an in-home daycare, a school crossing guard, a home health aide, a waitress, a bouncer at a friend?s night club, until in the winter of 1991 when she got her best position ever, she became somebody?s Nana.

Marina was preceded in death by her parents, Domingo Peral Fernandez, Fidela Gomez Romero, and her stepfather Juan Jose Ramirez Garcia; American family, James and Helen Laurence, and their daughter LouAnne; her siblings, Josefa Peral Gómez, José María Ramirez Gómez, Francisca Ramirez Gómez; her youngest son, James Norman Spears; her in-laws, Norman and N. Una Spears; her brothers in law: Robert L. Spears, and Norman W. Spears, Jr.

She is survived by her loving husband, Charles H. (Spears); a daughter, Una F Jacob (Brent ); a son, Charles D. Spears (Kelly); her first boy raised, Brian Laurence (Jennifer); her Dominican son, Ralph Muñoz; her pumpkin pie son, Kevin Fidel (Fer); her bonus daughters: Tisha Dixon-Coombs (Tim) and Kristi (Nixon) Brown; grandchildren: Ben Vincent Laurence; R. Marina Loredo (Christian); Leander Spears (Gabby); James H. Spears (Molly); Angel Maxwell Rivera, Jr. (A Renae); Sarah; Sophia; & Jadie; and the greatest gems in her heart of hearts, her crowning glory those great grandchildren: River, Ronin, Angel, and coming very soon, Baby Marina.