Richard "Dick" Ronald Spencer

My Dad was a Lucky Guy. He’d tell you that himself.  

LUCKY to be born to Jack and Nellie Spencer, English immigrants who met and married in Springfield, Ohio, making Dad a birthright citizen. He was named after his maternal grandfather who was a respected foreman in the Yorkshire cotton mills of Northern England. Jack and Nellie were loving, dedicated parents and Dad and his brother learned responsibility and integrity by example as their parents forged their family and livelihood during the hardships of the Depression and wartime 1940s. They also modeled good humor which stayed with Dad throughout his long life. Because of them, Dad developed a deep love for England and maintained close ties with many cousins and relatives there. He visited regularly for business and pleasure and was always ready to make a return trip.  

LUCKY, at the tender age of 18 months, when his life was saved from whooping cough by a quick-thinking Irish immigrant neighbor, Mrs. O’Dougherty, who dipped him alternately into warm then cold water which broke his fever and helped him recover.

LUCKY when, as a younger and smaller than average high school student, Dad’s shop teacher Mr. Ober suggested he consider going to college - an idea far beyond Dad’s modest aspirations at the time. Mr. Ober was the first and only adult in Dad’s life to suggest this to him.  

LUCKY when, enrolled in college classes for which he was unprepared, a kindly neighbor named Garvin Shatts patiently helped tutor him in the complexities of trigonometric identities. Toward the end of his career in mechanical engineering, Dad was recognized as a distinguished alumnus of Ohio State University.

LUCKY when home from college for the weekend, the girl he called for a date said yes even though she initially confused him with his brother. It turned out to be true love, lasting 65 years and producing four kids, five grandkids, and seven great-grandkids. They shared a compatible mindset, both being children of the Depression, from the same hometown, and raised during WW II. Mom was such a beauty that a cohort at Dad’s Naval Officer’s Candidate School didn’t believe she was real, let alone Dad’s. When Mom came to visit for a weekend, the guy followed Dad out to verify that she matched her photo! Their time in the Navy, stationed in Port Hueneme, California, was some of their happiest.  To be young and in love in 1950s California….they reminisced about it for the rest of their lives.

LUCKY to grow up in the flight path of an Air Force base, Dad had ample opportunity to watch planes come and go as he played outside as a kid. This sparked a lifelong passion for aviation. In his hometown of Springfield, Ohio, he began his career as a mechanical engineer at Steel Products, a small company with a nationwide reputation for designing and building gear-drive systems. Dad made a name for himself there and was eventually recruited by Sundstrand Aviation in Rockford, Illinois. He designed flap systems and actuators for commercial aviation, military defense contracts like the B2 bomber, and even the Space Shuttle.  Most impressive was his ability to identify nearly any airplane by the sound of its engine. And you need to know that the most beautiful airplane ever designed was the Spitfire, and that’s a fact. He never tired of admiring its elliptical wings and dreaming of flight.

LUCKY for us, family was always the thing Dad cared about most. Mom and Dad were an imperfectly perfect team: he was introverted, she extraverted; he was cerebral, she intuitive; he was a provider, she a nurturer. Together they made magic for their kids in the form of holiday traditions, birthday parties, and family vacations not to mention a calm and loving home.  Dad was an inventive bedtime storyteller, a patient and creative pumpkin carver under the direction of his kids, and a willing helper with math homework and science projects. He was also a companionable watcher of Saturday morning cartoons which delighted his children. And for his children’s 10th birthdays, Dad shared his passion for aviation by gifting each of us a brief airplane ride.  

In the summer of 1968, he drove our family of six from Springfield, Ohio to Los Angeles, California and back (via Route #66) for a six-week job assignment. We still talk about that epic road trip adventure. For each of his children in turn, he taught the joys of driving a stick shift using his time-tested, foolproof method. Upon becoming a grandparent, Dad developed a great rapport with his grandchildren and great-grandchildren alike - and they revered him in return.

Toward the end of their lives, Dad and Mom moved to Madison, Wisconsin. As Mom declined from Alzheimer’s, Dad visited her daily and advocated for her until she passed in July of 2019. At the same time, he often reflected on how lucky he was to live near his daughters. We felt the same, cherishing the chance to know him more deeply and spoil him with homecooked dinners, companionship, and adventures. His daughter Sarah in particular, advocated tirelessly on behalf of Dad’s health, attending every appointment and following up every detail. Furthermore, she ensured he regularly visited his favorite seasonal destinations in Wisconsin and Illinois. Sarah’s devotion to Dad was exemplary and worthy of all praise and credit.

Dad loved a good bawdy limerick, the comic genius of Laurel and Hardy, and his beloved Ohio State football. No doubt about it, his blood ran scarlet….and gray. His encyclopedic knowledge of WWII history was so extensive that during a visit to the National World War II Museum, we witnessed the docents defer to him on many exhibits. Dad had boundless reverence and respect for veterans and gave generously to the Wounded Warrior Project. A very humble and rational man, he raised his kids to value responsibility, honesty, and good humor, and remained a steadfast and generous presence in the lives of his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren to his dying day.  

Richard Ronald Spencer lived with his luck until the age of 94.  He passed away on July 26, 2025, following a brief battle with lymphoma. As the illness took him, three generations of loving family were there to honor him, make him comfortable and ease his passage as best we could. He was the mightiest, tallest tree in the forest of our family and we will miss him daily and deeply. May flights of Spitfires escort him to his rest.  

Dick is survived by his children, Rick (Amy Roberts) Spencer, Ellen (Bill) Montei, Sarah Spencer and Elizabeth (Andrew) Ravenscroft; grandchildren, Katie (Steve) Ziegler, Spencer (Lindsay) Montei, William (Eva Roos) Montei, Olivia Ravenscroft and Charlotte Ravenscroft; and seven great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Shirley; his brother, John; and his parents, Jack and Nellie Spencer.

A celebration of Dick’s life will be held at CHRIST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, 944 E Gorham St., Madison, WI  53703, from 2 p.m. until 4 p.m. on Saturday, September 20, 2025. Remembrances will take place from 2:30 p.m. until 3:30 p.m. on Saturday.

In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate gifts to a cause very dear to Dick’s heart: The Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center at www.adrc.wisc.edu/give.

Online condolences may be made at www.gundersonfh.com.

Gunderson West

Funeral & Cremation Care

7435 University Ave.

(608) 831-6761