We all agree that our love of our Chrysler 300s is the magnet that drew us to this club, but once you are a member you discover that the real glue that binds us is our members. Two such members were Bill & Bev Spear. I remember attending the 1989 Fall Meet in Pittsburgh, PA. I came out of the host hotel into the parking lot and there was a new Dodge pick-up attached to a big, white enclosed car trailer. I don’t know about you, but I am always intrigued when I come across an enclosed trailer at a 300 meet. Upon further investigation there was a sign in big blue letters on the back of the trailer that read, “Bill Spear Chrysler Plymouth, Chardon Ohio”. Things even got better when a tall, older gentleman started to unload the contents of the trailer, which turned out to be a beautiful, black 300C coupe. Introductions were quickly made and that was my first encounter with Bill & Bev Spear.

They were a beautifully bonded couple, very family oriented and I had the feeling that they each knew what the other was thinking. At this time, they had already been married for thirty-four years. Bill was 14 years older than me and he had a quiet dignity. A trait that was shared by his wife. I thought of him as a father figure. I suppose his business career contributed to his quiet demeaner. However, it wasn't long before we all learned that he loved a good joke, golf and his cars. The Spears soon blended in with the rest of the club members and we all enjoyed their company.

Bill Spear Chrysler Plymouth had been founded by Bill’s father, William Sr., in 1951. Young Bill entered into the business and it remained a Chrysler Plymouth dealership until Bill’s retirement in 1998. At that time Bill’s son took over the property and the dealership was converted to lawn tractor sales. Bill’s black C had been a trade in on a new car and Bill & Bev continued to keep it in the showroom. Bev told the joke that an older gentleman came into the dealership one day, saw the C and remarked, “Some of them never do sell do they?”

Bill continued to work on the C and in Concourse at Pittsburgh he scored an impressive 762 points. Several events later, he boosted that score to 872 points by hard work, perseverance and attention to detail. They also hosted two meets; Chardon, Ohio fall 1993 and Painesville, Ohio in 2007. Bill became a Vice President of the club in 1995. He also acquired a white 300G. I never saw this car but it has two glowing endorsements. 1) It was restored by Joe James of Missouri and 2) Jim Krausmann describes the car as having a “presence”; perfect chrome and stainless.

Bill and Bev remained club members until Bill’s passing in January of 2021. Even in retirement, he never forgot his work ethic. Going to the tractor sales shop to help out, he became a victim of Covid.

R.I.P. Bill

Last minute addition

I have a channel on cable tv called Rev Tv and there is a show, Classic Restos. Its hosted by an Australian chap, Marc Fletcher. Recently there was an episode covering 2024 Chryslers at Carlile. On one segment, he covered the tent that houses all original unrestored cars and the car he focused on was a 1970 Plymouth Superbird. The owner went into the car’s history. Apparently it languished in the Dealer’s show room for many years. After a while, it was sold, only to be repossessed by the dealer and it spent another time period at the dealer. The owner then went on to say that the dealership for Chrysler Plymouth was lost and the dealership was transformed into a John Deere Tractor franchise. After hearing this, I started to think that this sounded like Bill Spear’s and sure enough when the camera panned on the car’s trunk lid. There was the Bill Spear, Chardon Ohio logo. Small world, I had never heard this story before.