BAILEYVILLE – A woman who was a lifelong teacher – and for the past two years chairwoman of the school committee – died unexpectedly at her home Monday.

Jean Spearin, 74, is being hailed as a great teacher, mentor and friend.

“When I first came to [Baileyville] I taught English, she was a mentor to me,” fellow educator and longtime friend Dottie Johnson said Monday. “I taught in the junior high and when I got to teaching ninth grade, she really made sure I did what I was supposed to.”

Johnson said that even though Spearin had retired several years ago, she was an advocate for the school system. “She was dedicated to a good educational program for the town of Baileyville and the surrounding communities that send their kids here. She wanted us to hold our kids to high standards figuring that if we expected that of them they would do it,” she said.

Johnson said that several of Spearin’s students went on to become teachers.

Spearin spent 34 years in the field of education as an English teacher, Union 107 Superintendent Barry McLaughlin said Monday. “Twenty-six at the Woodland High School,” he added.

“We are incredibly shocked,” the superintendent said. “She was bright, articulate, loved kids, loved people, tough when she needed to be but always fair.”

The superintendent called Spearin a “class act.” “She had high standards for her students and herself and was a great role model for her kids,” he said. He said everyone had a Spearin story.

At one time, Spearin also had a foot in Canada, teaching in New Brunswick, including on Deer Island. She also taught in Calais.

She was a member of the Baileyville School Committee – except for a two-year hiatus – for nearly a decade. She originally was appointed in 1996. She was re-elected in 2004, serving as chairwoman.

She also worked for the Calais Advertiser for more than a decade as its proofreader. “She was our mentor with regard to proofing and English. She kept us on the straight and narrow,” said Ferguson Calder, the Advertiser’s publisher. “She was an icon and represented what a true lady was in every sense of the word. … She was a very classy, wonderful, compassionate, caring individual that we are going to deeply miss and I’m sure the community is, as a friend more than anything else.”

Co-workers, friends and students also remembered her affectionately on Monday.

Nancy Simpson, who used to substitute teach for Spearin, said the students loved her.

Baileyville Town Council Chairwoman Linda Rayner praised the former teacher. “Ah, Jean Spearin, what couldn’t you say that was nice about her,” Rayner said. “There wasn’t anything she wouldn’t do to help anybody.”

Although Rayner grew up in Baileyville, she said she was never lucky enough to have her as a teacher. But over the years she has worked closely with Spearin in her capacity as a school committee member. “She was a very good school board member, because she knew what the school needed,” Rayner said. “She was a fixture in the community. She was just loved by everybody who knew her. She was just a peach.”

Scott Harriman, Baileyville’s town manager, was Spearin’s student. “She worked us hard, but I learned a lot from Jean. She was tough but fair,” he said. “She definitely prepared us for college. I never had any problem with English in my undergraduate days and later I thanked her for it.”

Carol Ann Nicholson, who was a student when Spearin taught at Calais Memorial High School, also called her a good teacher. “She was very attentive to her students. Her students really liked her,” she said. “She was a real lady, somebody that you couldn’t help but like.”

Her husband, Keith Spearin, and son, Keith Michael Spearin, predeceased her.

Funeral arrangements are pending.