JOSEPH SAMUEL SPEARMAN, JR.

August 10, 1938 – March 28, 2026

Joseph Samuel Spearman, Jr, (Sam) went to be home with Christ 3/28/26 in Texarkana, TX. He was born in Shreveport, LA on 8/10/38 and raised in Atlanta, TX. He’s also lived in Little Rock, Austin, TX and Hot Springs Village. He graduated from Texas Tech, earned his MBA from Texas A&M, and served 2yrs in the Army. At Economic Development Administration, he championed investments in his native Atlanta region and Arkansas. Based in Little Rock, he developed a professional relationship with the Port of Little Rock and guided many investments that grew the Port into a significant powerhouse in Central Arkansas. Sam was also heavily invested in post-disaster investments helping communities recover from the devastations wreaked by tornadoes and floods in Arkansas. Most memorably, Sam was the driving force behind the Bridge to the 21st Century, bridging the pedestrian walkway from Clinton-Presidential Library to NLR. He attended a private meeting with President Clinton and the Regional Director of EDA as the President pitched his idea for an EDA investment in the Bridge to the 21st Century. He beamed when the First Family walked across the bridge.

Sam was one of a kind, and will be lovingly remembered as a kind and caring member of the EDA family. He was a Christian and attended FBC Texarkana. Hobbies included hunting, golf, flying RC Planes. He earned his pilots license and flew for business and personal use.

Sam is preceded in death by his parents Joe and Johanna Spearman, and his son Michael Spearman.

He is survived by his wife Gloria, son Joseph III, daughter Suzanne, sister Marian Hatton, and his children’s mother Sandy Spearman Turney.

Graveside services will be 2:00 pm, Saturday, April 18, 2026 at Pine Crest Cemetery in Atlanta, Texas, under the direction of Hanner Funeral Service.

Guest registry is available at www.hannerfuneralservice. com.