ALEXANDRIA, Va.--Emma Janis Closson Speel, 92, a long-time resident of Monmouth, died Nov. 5 in Alexandria.  Born in Middletown, Ct., she was the daughter of Karl and Lillian Avery Closson. She graduated from Cranston High School in Rhode Island, where she met her future husband, the Rev. Charles Jarvis Speel II. She received a bachelor of education degree from Rhode Island College in 1939 and taught elementary school in Rhode Island and in Tennessee during World War II. She married the Rev. Speel in 1942.

 

The Speels moved to Monmouth in 1951, when her husband joined the Department of Bible and Religion at Monmouth College. She was an active member and church school teacher at Faith United (formerly Second) Presbyterian Church. She participated in many college and community activities, including the Faculty Wives Association and a Great Books discussion group, and served as president of the Garden Club. She also taught English for several years at Monmouth High School. The Speels spent 1964-1965 at the United Theological College in Bangalore, India, and 1975-1976 with the Associated Colleges of the Midwest program in Florence, Italy.  Speel exercised her artistic talent through decorating, drawing, painting, braiding rugs, and sewing. She also greatly enjoyed spending summers on Cape Cod with her family. For many years, she cared for her mother, who suffered from Alzheimer's disease.  Speel moved to Virginia in 2000 after the death of her husband. She lived at Goodwin House, a continuing-care community in Alexandria. She is survived by her two daughters, Clara Beth Van de Water of Alexandria and Janis Avery Niblett of Lindsay, Ont., Canada, and four granddaughters.