John Warren Speer

John W. Speer (Captain (ret.) USN)

February 20, 1933 - August 30, 2026

John Warren Speer, aged 93, passed away peacefully at Grand Islander Nursing Home in Middletown, Rhode Island. He lived a long and eventful life. John was born in Pennsylvania and raised in Minnesota. He graduated from Macalester College in 1954. Following graduation, he attended Officer Candidate School in Newport and was commissioned an Ensign in the United States Navy. He married Cathleen Sweeney of Shakopee, Minnesota after being commissioned, and together they embarked on a 24 year adventure throughout the world, which included assignments in San Diego and El Toro, California, Atsugi, Japan, Philadelphia, Norfolk, Washington DC and finally Newport, Rhode Island, which became their permanent home. After the family moved to Rhode Island, John spent a year in South Vietnam where he earned a Bronze Star with Valor and later concluded his Navy career as Executive Officer of the Navy Finance Center in Cleveland, Ohio. He had sea tours on three ships - the USS Gunston Hall, USS Forrestal, and USS Independence. John greatly enjoyed his time at sea even though he deeply missed his family while away. He also earned master's degrees in both Business Administration and International Relations during his naval career. After retiring from the Navy in 1979, John began a second career teaching accounting courses at Rhode Island College before moving into academic and non-profit management, where he concluded his post-Navy career in 1995 as the Director of Finance at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA.

John and Cathy enjoyed traveling together after his retirement. They had sacrificed to put their children through college and had spent a great deal of time apart because of John's Navy career. So, they traveled to Spain, France, the Czech Republic, Italy and the Caribbean, making up for some of the time lost to family demands.

John greatly enjoyed outdoor activities, in particular skiing and sailing. Family ski trips began while he was stationed in Japan and continued until he was well into his seventies with trips to Vermont, Colorado and Utah. Sailing trips, whether out for the day in Narragansett Bay or longer cruises to Cape Cod and the Islands on the family's boat Spirit were legendary for their nautical fellowship and many adventures.

John was very interested in history and foreign affairs. Much of this came from his life experiences including the time he spent in Vietnam and his tour of duty at the Naval War College. Following retirement, he remained involved with Naval War College students, was actively engaged in Circle of Scholars at Salve Regina University, wrote numerous op-eds on foreign policy issues and worked for many years on a history of the Middle East that was never completed.

He and Cathy were generous with their philanthropic and personal support for a wide variety of causes, most notably the Martin Luther King Center, Portsmouth Abbey School, where he created a family scholarship to help Aquidneck Island students attend Portsmouth Abbey, and the Potter League for Animals Shelter, which grew out of his lifelong love of dogs, particularly English Setters and Labrador Retrievers.

John was preceded in death by his wife Cathy. He is survived by his three children and their families including seven grandchildren and five great grandchildren: Paul and Susan Speer of Falmouth, Massachusetts and two sons (Michael and Eric); Lisa Speer-Huet and Gregory Huet of Middletown, Rhode Island, their three children (John, Cathleen, Daniel), and two granddaughters (Gracie and Isla); Eric and Linda Speer of Westport, Connecticut, their two sons (David and Christopher), and three granddaughters (Eloise, Nealy, and Amelia). The family would like to thank the caregivers of Hope Hospice and the staff of the Grand Islander Middletown. Funeral services will be held on September 24 at 1 pm at Connors Memorial Funeral Home in Portsmouth, Rhode Island. In lieu of flowers, his family is requesting that donations be made in his name to the Martin Luther King Center https://mlkccenter.org/donate/ or The Potter League of Animals Shelter. https://potterleague.org/donate/