Juniper Village-The Spearly Center was named for James Luther
Spearly a very special individual who truly nurtured the spirits of our
residents, staff and the community at large. Jim, died prematurely of
brain cancer at the age of 44 on September 28,1994. In his short life
though he left a remarkable legacy.
Jim was both brilliant and humble with tremendous knowledge of
public policy, particularly around mental health issues. Jim received his
doctorate from the University of Texas at Austin where he published a number of
noted articles about community mental health as well as child abuse and
neglect. Jim also received his law degree from the University of Texas.
After completing his studies, Jim served as legislative counsel for the Texas
Senate where he rewrote the Texas Mental Health Code transforming as outdated
code into one of the most progressive in the nation. He moved to Colorado
and became the Administrative Vice President for Naropa University in
Boulder. While there he co-founded Naropa’s Department of Gerontology and
Long-term Care Management. He served as Co-Director of Naropa’s Gerontology
Department until his death.
During that time, Dr. Spearly worked with Juniper Communities
and Pinon Management to develop and implement exceptionally strong
psycho-social programming at what was then known as Hillside Care Center. As
part of his work at the community, Jim introduced interdisciplinary teams that
equally focused on psycho-social as well as medical care. The transformation in
the lives of the residents and staff was as dramatic as in any long term care
community today that embraces the culture change movement.
We all live in the midst of Jim Spearly’s legacy today at
Juniper Village-The Spearly Center. We are unique individuals who are
celebrated for who we are and for the beautiful fabric of a community we weave
together, nurturing the spirit of life!
~Sue Pappas, NHA
The Spearly Center
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