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Richard Spencer
RICHARD L. SPENCER
Cedar Rapids
Richard L. Spencer, 86, of Cedar Rapids, passed away Saturday, Nov. 3, 2018, at the Gardens of Cedar Rapids with his family by his side. A celebration of life service will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 7, at St Mark's Lutheran Church, 8300 C Ave. NE. There will be a visitation from 10 a.m. until service time Wednesday at the church. The Rev. Steve Qualben will officiate. Inurnment will be in Duluth, Minn., at a later date. Cedar Memorial Park Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Dick was born Nov. 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) and Roger (Lucy); and his wife, Bev.
He is survived by his two sons, Steve and Scott; and a daughter, Mary Beth (Payne). He is also survived by his 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 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 Sept. 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.
Please leave a message or tribute to the Spencer family on the website www.cedarmemorial.com under obituaries.
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