Memorial
Richard L. Spencer, 86 of Cedar Rapids passed away Saturday November 3, 2018 at the Gardens of Cedar Rapids with his family by his side. A Celebration of Life Service will be held at St Mark’s Lutheran Church, 8300 C Avenue NE on Wednesday November 7th, 2018 at 11:00 AM. There will be a visitation on Wednesday from 10:00 AM until service time at the Church. Rev. Steve Qualben will officiate. Inurnment will be in Duluth, Minnesota at a later date. Cedar Memorial Park Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Dick was born on November 20, 1931, the fourth child of Gerard and Mary Spencer. He was preceded in death by his parents, a sister (Mary Stout), two brothers Jim (Phyllis), Roger (Lucy), and his wife Bev. He is survived by two sons, Steve, Scott and a daughter Mary Beth (Payne). He is also survived by six wonderful grandchildren Stevie, Austin, Bailey, Allison, Alexis, and Ryder.
Dick attended public schools in Duluth graduating in 1949. He attended the University of Minnesota Duluth one year before joining the Navy. After training in electronics at Great Lakes Naval Station he spent most of three years on two repair ships stationed in Sasebo, Japan.
Following discharge from the Navy, Dick returned to Duluth and the roller skating rink where he met again his future wife Bev. They dated for two years while Dick attended the Milwaukee School of Engineering receiving an AAS degree in electronics. Dick was then hired by IBM as a Customer Engineer and assigned to Cedar Rapids. He worked for IBM almost 40 years. Bev and Dick were married September 27, 1958.
Over the next few years Dick and Bev had three wonderful children. They were fortunate to have the entire family close by. The family had trips together to Colorado, New York, Washington D.C., The Boundary Waters and many to Duluth. Lake Superior, the North Shore and Duluth (The Norwegian Rivera) were always a magnet to the family.
In lieu of flowers you may donate to the American Heart Fund, Linn County Food Bank, or the Parkinson’s Research Fund.