Willa Dean 'Tootsie' Speer

Mrs. Willa Dean ‘Tootsie’ Speer age 95 of Dyer, Tennessee, passed away on Monday, March 24, 2025, at her home with her family around her. Funeral service for Mrs. Speer will be held on Thursday, March 27, 2025, at 1PM in the chapel of Karnes and Son Funeral Home in Rutherford, with Bro. Joey Huffstetler officiating. Visitation for Mrs. Speer will be held 12PM until service time at 1PM with burial in Griers Chapel Cemetery in Dyer, Tennessee.

Mrs. Willa Dean Speer was born September 25, 1929, to the late Edgar Raymond and Eva Lee Rogers McDowell. Infectiously known as ‘Tootsie,’ she was a homemaker, along with being a loving mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. She attended the Griers Chapel Methodist Church.

Mrs. Speer is survived by her children, Gail Davis, Karen Sue McCarson, Vickie Snow, Peggy Otte, David Speer, and Steve Speer; seventeen grandchildren; twenty-eight great grandchildren; and sixteen great-great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her loving husband, Loyd Edward Speer; one son, Charles Speer; three sisters, Joyce Tweedy, Diana Jo Vanadda, Oma Jean Hubbard; and four brothers, James McDowell, Ray McDowell, Larry McDowell, and Wayne McDowell.

Karnes and Son Funeral Home is honored to serve the family of Mrs. Willa Dean Speer.