Francis D. Lear
June 17, 1949 ~ May 20, 2008
Francis Dale Lear went to be with his Lord and Savior on Tuesday, May 20, 2008 at the age of 58. He was born on June 17, 1949 to Lewis and Helen Lear. He was preceded in death by his loving father, Lewis Lear; brother, Delton Lear, and father-in-law, Gilbert Elvis Owen. He has lived in the San Antonio area all of his life. He accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior at the age of 19, and has lived a Christian life since. He surrendered to the Ministry at the age of 39. He has been a pastor of Raven Hill Baptist Church and Houston Terrace Baptist Church. He taught at Highlands High School for 10 years and at East Central for 14 years until he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. He is survived by his mother, Helen Lear; brother, Morton; the love of his life and best friend and wife, Lois Owen Lear; his sons Bryan and wife, Karey and Jeremy and wife, Marla; his two wonderful granddaughters that he loved very much, Emma and Kailey Lear and by a cousin that he loved like a sister, Laura Respondex and her family; mother-in-law, Thelma Owen and by two brothers-in-law and 3 sisters-in-law, as well as nieces and nephews. The family would like to express their appreciation for the care given to Mr. Lear by Country Care Manor Nursing Home and by Odyssey Hospice of San Antonio. Visitation will be held from 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM on Thursday, May 22, 2008 at the Salem Sayers Baptist Church in Adkins. Funeral services will follow at 2:00 PM at the church with Brother Bret Edwards officiating. Burial will immediately follow at Salem Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be given to the Alzheimer's Association or to the Salem Sayer Baptist Church in Adkins, Texas.
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Lois, Brian and Jeremy, I just wanted to let you know that our thoughts and prayers are with you at this time. Fran was a wonderful person with an amazing heart and he will be missed. I hope God will give you peace at this time. All our love, Cindee Kirk and Eugene and Jean Rogers.
We just wanted to let you know our prayers and thoughts are with you and your family. Francis will be deeply missed. God Bless, Karl, Sharon George Karla Garcia
Lois, Jeremy and Bryan, My heart felt sympathy to all of you, and all of your family at this sad time . God now has a new and special angel to help us all…. Just know that our hearts and prayers are with you. Carol Moxley Johnson ( Chip Moxley’s mom )
Mrs. Lear, Brian & Jeremy Please accept my deepest sympathies. Know that Mr. Lear was an amazing man, mentor and teacher. He always had an open ear and would openly discuss his faith with me. Of all the teachers we go thru in life, this man stood out. He will be greatly missed. Clay Smoot
My heart is broken to hear of the loss of Mr. Lear. He was a great and kind man that I will remember always. My prayers are with you as you go through these hard times. I pray God gives you strength and comfort as your hearts heal. God bless you.
My dear Lois and boys, I was so sad to hear about Fran. He was such a special person and will be missed. I know your faith will get you through this. You are all in my prayers. Love you all very much.
Lois, Bryan and Jeremy — Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your families. May wonderful memories help you through this difficult time. Gus and Susan Gonzalez
Lois, Brian,Karey, Emma & Kailey, Jeremy & Marla, Grandma Lear, Marty: Please know that we love you all. Although we only knew Fran a few years, we know that Fran was a very loving and kind person. He is with God and at peace. We love you, Mary & Ken
Lois, Bless your heart!
April and I want to let you guys know that you all are in our thoughts and prayers. I had the utmost respect for Mr. Lear and what he stood for. He was a great model for us men to use when learning how to be a husband and father. We love all of you. God Bless.
Mrs. Lear, Bryan, and Jeremy, May the love and prayers of all Mr. Lear helped, myself included, give you strength now. How lucky he was to have you all in his life, and how blessed you were to have him in yours. I’m thinking of all of you.
Mrs. Lear, Bryan, and Jeremy, May the love and prayers of all Mr. Lear helped, myself included, give you strength now. How lucky he was to have you all in his life, and how blessed you were to have him in yours. I’m thinking of all of you.
Lois and the family.. My sincere sympathy and condolences for the loss of your Fran. He was one of the kindest men that I knew and I will forever be grateful for the prayers, visits & friendship that he shared with my late dad, Andy and my mom, Charlotte…he was always there in a heartbeat when things got rough and stood by my family in such a loving & kind manner. May God Bless each of you as you face the days ahead without Bro. Fran. He will be missed by many. He truly loved the Lord and is now at peace for eternity. My prayers and thoughts are with you all during this difficult time. Love, Cathy McKeown (Charlotte Sylvester’s daughter)
Lois, Bryan, Jeremy and Family, So very sad to hear about your loss, Fran. Our prayers are with you all and I always remember him at to our door and sharing “The Word” with our family, and spending time together with all of you at Salem Sayers Baptist Church. He is in a better place and we hope to see him again someday. Amador, Lydia, Nicholas, and Derek
Lois, Bryan and Jeremy, I wish to offer my condolences and to let you all know that Laurie, Chelsea, Josh and myself will be keeping you in our thoughts and prayers. Memories of playing basketball with Fran and the boy’s is always in my mind, I thank him for his spiritual side. I know our Eternal Father is saying to him “Well done good and Faithful servant” God Bless, Bernie, Laurie, Chelsea and Josh
Mrs. Lear, Bryan & Karey, Jeremy & Marla: We want you all to know you are in our thoughts and prayers at this difficult time. We pray you find comfort in knowing that he has claimed his crown of eternal life. With our sympathy and love,
Helen,morty,lois bryan jeremy,our deepest sympathy to the family of Frany Lear.it was a pleasure to know him as he served as our pastor,at Houston Terrace.Also he was my kin-folk.I know Bryan and Jeremy very well,they were raised in a great home.This is a very difficult time. Remember this PRAISE GOD HE IS A CHILD OF THE KING Love Reggie & Mona Witten
Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. We pray that God gives you the strength that you need during this difficult time.
Lois, Bryan, & Jeremy You are in our thoughts and prayers.
Lois and family, Sending you our thoughts and prayers. Fran was a wonderful person to be around and also to know.
Mr. Lear was one of the biggest reasons why I went into the computer field. It was in his class back in 1998-2000 that i got into networking and computer building. I will never forget the years of taking his classes and the great example that he left for me and my twin brother and all of my friends. Because of him I am now a network admin. All my love goes out to his wife and two sons. Jason Lathe
Sally & I would like to thank you and the Lord for our friendship all these years. Since the day we met at Saylem Sayers, the bond we had was very special. As Paul Bricker pointed out at the service, it was Fran’s expertise that made it possible for Sally and I to build the home of our dreams. We realize that this was no easy task and was very demanding on the entire Lear family. The eventual sale of that house has allowed Sally and I to be debt free for retirement. Sally and I think back at some of the struggles that all of our boys had growing up and Sally and I know how proud you are at how each of them have turned out in their personal lives. Isn’t being a Grand Parent fun, especially to spoil them, fill them up with sugar and give them back to their parents. Ah such joy! It is our prayer for the Lear family to be Blessed at this time and in the time to come when we will all be together in the Kingdom Praising our Lord for all eternity..
You are a wonderful family, and Mr. Lear is a wonderful man. Our East Central community has indeed lost an amazing spirit. May God’s love and the love of family and friends comfort you during this difficult time.
Mrs. Lear, Bryan, Jeremy and family, Our thoughts and prayers are with you. I have many fond memories of growing up at Salem Sayers that include your family. Mr. Lear was always a powerful presence in our young lives. I pray that God will give you strength and comfort. Love in Christ, Karen, Seth and Madison Lawhead
Lois and family were are sorry about your loss Fran was our sunday school teacher at Salem Sayers we had a very blessed time with you all. May God comfort you all at this time knowing you will see him again in heaven is such a blessing. God Bless you all. Our prayers are with you. David and Linda Wiederstein
Mrs. Lear, Brian, & Jeremy, I just heard of your loss this evening and am so sorry to hear it. We will keep you in our thoughts and our prayers. Praise God that we KNOW Mr. Lear is now in the very presence of God. =0) In His Love, Erica
Dear Lois and boys, Many good memories do I have, but nothing like your family have of Frany. We were all blessed to know and be around Brother Frany. I know he loved his family and that they all loved him and are thankful he is with our Lord now for eternity. May God comfort you in the days ahead.
Mrs. Lear, Bryan, and Jeremy, We are so sorry for your loss. Mr. Lear was also so kind and friendly; he will be greatly missed. May God comfort you the way only He can.
Mrs. Lear, Bryan, and Jeremy, My prayers and love go out to you. You have all been such a big part of my life. I can still remember the sleep overs and all the fun that brought. You guys are trully my second family. I will miss Mr. Lear, but know that God has him exactly where he needs to be. Peace be upon you.
Dear Aunt Loisy, Bryan and Jeremy, I am deeply saddened to hear about the loss of Uncle Franny. The memories that I have of him and your family are very dear to my heart. Each of you are in my prayers. Love, Amber, Josh, and Mason Prewitt
Mrs. Lear, Bryan and Jeremy, The East Central family has definitely lost an icon, but his legacy will remain. You can see that from the number of students that continue to remember him and all that he stood for. May the rememberance of his greatness help you heal.
Our prayers are with Francis, Lois,and family. May the Lord watch over them for eternity.
The entire Lear family, We only knew Fran for a short time but realized from the first meeting that he was a very special man. He was a man of faith and love and it showed through. He is now in God’s tender loving care, at peace, helping God to make a place for us. We are so sorry we were unable to be at the funeral but want you to know that our thoughts & prayers are with you. God’s peace to you all, Pam & Herb
I just heard from Tillie Snyder about Frannie’s death. I am very sorry to hear that he died. Frannie and I got along very well as I was growing up on Pennystone and messing with Ham Radio with Lou and Smitty. Seeing the picture on this site, he looks like he became a fine person. My mother has Altzheimer’s as well and is at Incarnate Word. Unfortunately, she cannot extend her condolences due to her condition but I’m sure she would want me to express them. God bless Helen and Marty, and give them strength to bear the loss of Frannie. Doug