Longtime St. Albans, Vermont, chiropractor. Born January 23, 1905, Donald Bean Mears, Sr., died from a brief illness at the age of 79.

Dr. Mears was a 1927 graduate of the Palmer School of Chiropractic at Davenport, Iowa, following which he opened a private chiropractic practice in Swanton in 1928 and in St. Albans in 1933.  Throughout his many years of practice, Dr. Mears developed many new chiropractic techniques and instruments and authored a technique textbook in 1976 and contributed many articles on chiropractic to several professional journals and magazines.

He was a member of the Vermont Board of Chiropractic Examiners from 1942 to 1951, the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners, of which he was chairman from 1946 to 1951.  He was past president of the Vermont Chiropractic Association, the Vermont Chiropractic X-Ray Council and was a member of the American Chiropractic Association and Delta Sigma Chi.  He was also the recipient of the D. D. Palmer Science Award in 1968, the Distinguished Service Award in 1974, and the 50 Year Service Award in 1977.

In addition, he was a life member and past commander of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary and was a member of the Vermont Historical Society.  For many years, Dr. Mears has been listed in Marquis Who's Who In the East because of his many contributions to his chosen profession.