Mary “Carolyn” Spiers, 82, of Orange, Texas, died peacefully on Sunday, November 16, 2025, in Orange.
Born Mary Carolyn Dick, on February 22, 1943, in Vicksburg, Mississippi to her parents, Lawson and Olivia (Lord) Dick. She was one of four siblings, David, Jean, and Douglas, who, including her parents, all preceded her in death.
She is survived by her loving husband of 59 years, Edward Spiers; her daughter, Wendy Reed; her son, Lawson (Shawn) Spiers; her granddaughter, Courtney Raley; her grandsons, Dillon Simmons, and Casey Raley; her great-grandchildren, Hensley and Brantley Theis, Caselyn Raley, and Cullen Simmon; as well as numerous nieces and nephews.
Carolyn attended Culkin Academy and was a 1961 graduate, where she enjoyed playing basketball and serving as class officer. After grade school, she attended Mississippi State College for Women (“The W”), obtaining a Bachelor of Science in English. She was a third-generation graduate of MSCW, following in the footsteps of her mother, Olivia, and her grandmother, Eula. She later completed a Master of Education from Mississippi State University.
In 1966, she married her husband in Vicksburg at her childhood home. She started teaching at Warren Central Junior High in Vicksburg. In 1974, they moved to Texas. Edward worked in the refineries as a pipe welder, and she began teaching English at Vidor High School. After 29 years of fostering an appreciation of education and learning in the lives of the many students that passed through her classroom, she retired in 2003. Her passion and dedication for learning influenced so many students, including her son, Lawson, who obtained his degree in Kinesiology and became certified to teach. She was always there promoting and encouraging further education. It wasn’t uncommon to hear former students say, “Mrs. Spiers was my favorite teacher!”. Her words of wisdom and her legacy of devotion to the education system will live on in the lives of the ones she inspired.
Her accolades were many, and included being named Teacher of the Year, being Head of the English Department, sponsoring Future Teachers of America, volunteering to judge U.I.L. literary contests, D.A.R. (Daughters of the American Revolution), and Chapter Officer of ADK-O. Her never-ending desire to teach lead her back into the classrooms to become a substitute teacher. Early in her illness, having a grading book in her lap was comforting, and kept her mind occupied. She often thought the medical staff members were former students. All roads lead back to the classroom.
In her personal time, you would find her involved in all kinds of hobbies, talents, and interests. The piano and ukulele were where she demonstrated her musical talents. She was an excellent artist, especially with watercolors. When her children were in 4-H, she taught them how to make blue ribbon recipes for the food shows. She was an excellent seamstress and supervised the outfits her daughter made and modeled for the dress shows. Tennis with the ladies, luncheons at local tea rooms, and antiquing were a couple of places you could usually find her, along with being a co-owner of the businesses Doodads Unlimited and The Polished Apple. She toured Europe with her late sister, Jean. Willingly went along on the family vacation to Alaska, which was traveled to in a Buick Le Sabre, along with camping in KOA campgrounds the entire trip. Each adventure was well documented and read like a novel. She was fond of football and was a devoted Mississippi State Bulldogs and Vidor Pirates fan, along with the Mighty Pirates Marching Band. She loved when the band would play “Slavonic”. She was able to attend an MSU v. LSU game in Death Valley with her daughter, Wendy, before she became ill. Although “State” lost, she had a smile on her face the entire game. Gardening was a fun pastime, and she took great pride in having a wide array of colors and plants in the yard. Her favorite flowers were cape jasmine, roses, azaleas, confederate jasmine, hydrangeas, and marigolds. She was dedicated to the Bible and church. She found great honor singing alto in the choir at First United Methodist Church in Orange, and during the early years in Mississippi, also sang in the choir at First Methodist Protestant Church in Vicksburg. On Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, you would find her in the kitchen slaving away to prepare the most picture-perfect and delectable meal, along with the fine China, silverware, and holiday appropriate centerpieces. When Courtney realized that deviled eggs were not part of the menus for Thanksgiving and Christmas, she asked “Grandmama” if she would fix deviled eggs. She was mortified at the thought of serving an item that is considered Easter food and quickly vetoed the request. She remained firm in her southern tradition beliefs. Carolyn, mom, grandmama, she always gave her best to all. She always did everything with pride and dignification and held herself to the highest standards. The family would like to thank the staff (Rachelle, Mary, Hope, Karleigh, Kacie, Ashley, Sydney, Kyla, and Fumi) at Golden Years in Orange for their compassion and excellent care of our matriarch. Also, in a world full of hospices, Heart to Heart ranks top notch, Tasha and Taylor are to be commended for their excellent care, attention and devotion, and for that, we are grateful.
Services will be held Friday, November 21, 2025, at 11:00 a.m., at First United Methodist Church in Orange with Pastor TJ Gableman officiating. A visitation will be held just prior to services at 10:00 a.m. A graveside service and burial will take place at Cedar Hill Cemetery in Vicksburg , Mississippi at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 23, 2025.
Serving as pallbearers will be Christopher Dick, Lawson Dick, Dillon Simmons, Casey Raley, Joe Greer, and Justin Greer.