Armetha Spearman, 84, former Philco worker and caregiver.

WHEN GREGORY SPEARMAN pushed his mother through the West Philadelphia neighborhood around 52nd and Market streets in her wheelchair, he felt as if he were chaperoning an important somebody.

Everybody seemed to know Armetha Spearman, and she seemed to know everybody around the busy neighborhood.

"I thought I was pushing a celebrity," Gregory said. "Especially the kids recognized her."

Armetha Spearman, onetime employee of the old Philco company and a caregiver who went to the homes of the ill and home-bound to lend them her love and concern, a devoted mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, died Oct. 9. She was 84.

Armetha had a special fondness for children, and they recognized her interest in their welfare and education. In fact, she would carry pencils and paper and other writing tools to pass out to them as she encountered them.

Before she required a wheelchair, Armetha was a great walker. She enjoyed walking around her neighborhood and visiting the stores and businesses around 52nd and Market.

"She knew a lot of the vendors and storeowners," said Gregory, Democratic leader of the 60th Ward. "She would make a pit stop, sit down and talk with people."

Armetha liked to keep up with what was going on in her city, and, when she had an issue she felt strongly about, threatened to "go to City Hall."

"She never went, but there were times when she wanted something done about a problem she saw in the neighborhood," her son said.

Armetha was born in Ardmore, Okla., to Bernard Nelson and Georgia Watts. She got her early education there and came to Philadelphia with her family at an early age.

She was a student of the Opportunities Industrialization Center, founded by the Rev. Leon Sullivan to train young people for the job market.

After graduating, she went to work for the old Philco plant in North Philadelphia, which manufactured radios.

Later, she became a caregiver, a job in which her natural compassion for other people gave her special insight to their needs and problems.

In fact, Armetha was known for her listening ear, and she was always available for anyone who needed someone to talk to and offer sound advice.

"Neighbors would come to her home to talk to her," her son said. "She had a special affinity for young mothers who needed some help in raising their children.

Armetha was an outstanding cook whose bread and banana pudding were to die for.

She was married to Sidney Spearman. The marriage ended in divorce.

"She was a serious-minded woman with a special love of children," her son said. "She called them her 'babies.' "

Besides Gregory, she is survived by four other sons, Caro, Hoyt, Ronnie and Herbert; a daughter, Armetha "Cookie" Spearman; 16 grandchildren; and 28 great-grandchildren. She is also survived by a cousin, Diane Thompson, whom she raised as a daughter.

Services: 11 a.m. Saturday at the Gaither Funeral Home, 5300 Vine St. Friends may call at 9 a.m. Burial will be in Fernwood Cemetery.