Earl Alphonso Spivey was  born on January 25, 1940 in Glen Ridge, New Jersey to Robert and Catherine Spivey.  Earl grew up in Montclair and was educated in the Montclair Public Schools, graduating from Montclair High School in 1958.  Earl exceled in football and track.  In 1957, he was a stand out on the Montclair High School state champion football team and in his senior year in high school he was the state champ in the high and low hurdles.

Earl, known affectionately as Fonnie, to his friends and family attended the University of Dayton on a football scholarship.  He majored in Physical Education and received his Bachelor's of Science degree in 1962.

Upon returning to Montclair, Fonnie married Doris Watkins on June 15, 1963. Out of this union, one beautiful daughter Karla was born on April 23, 1966.

Fonnie was a dedicated educator.  At the beginning of his career, he worked at the Kilmer Job Center and St. Mary's High School in Elizabeth.  In 1966, he went to work for the East Orange School District as a physical education teacher, physical education department chairperson and track coach.  He eventually went to work for the Orange School District where he was a physical education teacher and physical education coordinator.  Fonnie returned to college and received a Master of Science degree in Administration and Supervision from William Paterson College.

Fonnie had a great sense of humor and was the life of any party.  He loved sports especially tennis, swimming and fishing.  Additionally, he loved traveling with his wife and their special friends Dennis & Yvonne Houston and Ernie & Barbara Jackson.  Every summer, this group along with their children and grandchildren would take an annual trip to Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

Earl is preceded in death by his parents Robert & Catherine Spivey and his siblings the Rev. Wilbert, Robert, Jr., Frank, Gladys Smith and Marie Ryder.

He leaves to cherish his memory his wife Doris; daughter Karla; granddaughter Jayden; brother Raymond (Celine); sisters Thelma, Ernestine and Mary (Samuel); sisters-in-law Beverly and Deborah; and brothers-in-law Leroy Smith and James Watkins and many devoted nieces and nephews and a host of special friends and relatives.