Montgomery T. Speir

Montgomery Theodore Speir, retired Colonel US Army, and former Executive Secretary of the North Carolina State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors, passed away on Wednesday, April 25, 2018.

Monty (M.T.) was born in Greenville, NC on July 6, 1930 to Montgomery and Gertrude Boone Speir, and was a graduate of Winterville High School. After completing one year of education at East Carolina University, he became a member of the class of 1953 at the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he earned his Bachelor of Science in Engineering. Monty also received his Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from Georgia Tech in 1962. He was commissioned into the Army in 1953 and served in Vietnam, Korea, Lebanon, and Germany as well as posts throughout the United States. He was branched Field Artillery and subsequently transferred into the Air Defense Artillery upon that branch’s creation in 1968. He retired from the Army in 1977. Upon retirement he became the Executive Secretary of the North Carolina State Board of Registration for Engineers and Surveyors, and served in that position until 1992.

Monty married the former Joan Martin Starnes in Trenton, Kentucky on February 11, 1956, and is survived by her. He is also survived by his son Bob Speir (Barbara) of Fayetteville; his daughter, Susan Jones (Al) of Winston-Salem; and his grandchildren, Andrew Jones (Jessica) of Palo Alto, California; Philip Jones (Leigh-Anna) of Portland, Oregon; Carol Speir of Raleigh; and Bryan Speir of Charlotte. He was predeceased by his sister, Patricia Anne Speir.

Monty was a member of First Baptist Church of Raleigh, and was a member of the John Hiott Fellowship Sunday School Class. For the past three years he has been a resident of Springmoor Life Care Retirement Community.

A Memorial Service will be held in celebration of Monty’s life at 1:00 pm on Saturday, April 28, 2018 at First Baptist Church, 99 N. Salisbury Street. Visitation will be immediately following the service in the Fellowship Hall.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Springmoor Endowment Fund, 1500 Sawmill Road, Raleigh NC 27615, or to the First Baptist Church Repair and Replacement Fund.