Family, friends, lawmakers gathered for the dedication
WASHINGTONVILLE – Portions of Route 208 in the Village of Washingtonville were dedicated on Wednesday as “John Spear Way” in honor of Spear, who died in 2015.
He was a 50-year member of the village planning board, founder of the Washingtonville CYO basketball program and a pillar in his local church community.
Assemblyman James Skoufis and Senator William Larkin sponsored the resolution in the state legislature paving the way for the renaming of the section of the state road, known as South Street and Goshen Avenue in the village.
“If there was ever a Washingtonville resident who deserved the honor of having a street named after them, it’s John Spear,” said Skoufis, who along with Larkin and members of the Spear family Wednesday unveiled a new street sign in Spear’s memory.
Larkin said Spear was “a person who dedicated himself to enriching the lives of local residents.”
Mary Spear, John Spear’s widow, said her late husband “genuinely cared about the community and devoted his life to making it better.”
