Murdered Missionary Had Many Ties In NW

A 32-year-old missionary killed on a street in the Philippines this week grew up in the Spanaway area near Tacoma and his parents still live in Puyallup.

The missionary, John Speers, was born in Montana, but came to Washington as an infant when his parents, Bert and Joanne Speers, moved to Spanaway in 1959, according to his family.

On Tuesday, Speers was in Cotabato City on the island of Mindanao when a youth came up to him and shot him in what authorities say may have been a thrill killing.

"He was doing pioneer work with Muslims," his father said today. "In the afternoon he walked out to talk with people and the guy ran right up behind him at a distance of three feet and shot him in the back of the head."

The gunman is believed to be a teenager who may have been high on drugs.

"This was a murder. My brother-in-law gave his life for his love of God," said Peter Gordon, who is married to Speers' sister, Debra.

Speers, who was born in 1958, spent most of his life in Washington. He attended Bethel High School in Spanaway. In high school he was editor of the school newspaper his senior year. Speers also was in the honor society.

After graduating from high school in 1977, Speers enrolled at a Bible college in Canada. Upon graduation three years later, Speers returned to Washington, where he taught at a private church school in Federal Way.

Speers entered missionary work in 1983 and went to the Philippines in 1984, sponsored by Woodside Bible Fellowship in Elmira, Ontario, Canada.

The church is associated with Plymouth Brethren Assembly, which has churches in Canada and the United States.

Speers' wife, Brenda, and his two children, Shoshannah and Josiah, recently had moved to Cotabato City with Speers. He was to be buried early next week just south of Manila, where he helped establish a church, said Rose Brooks in a telephone interview from the Philippines.

Speers' brothers, Bert Speers Jr. of South Prairie and Dean Speers of Puyallup, planned to fly to the Philippines for the burial.

This Sunday, Speers' parents plan to have a memorial service for their son at 3 p.m. at the Elk Plain Community Church in Spanaway.