Richard D Spencer

Richard D. Spencer Obituary Richard was born January 8, 1935 in Albion, Michigan. His family lived in Chicago during World War II. They moved to the St Louis, Missouri area after the war. His senior year, he left high school friends behind and moved with his parents to Bethesda, Maryland. After high school, he returned to Missouri and received a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Missouri, in 1958. He was an engineer at Marquardt Aircraft in Los Angels, California for four years. After that, he wanted a new challenge and attended the UCLA school of business. He graduated with a MBA, specializing in Numeric Analysis and Decision Theory. While there, he was introduced to a new, important tool, computers. In 1965, he became a civilian employee of the Navy in the Operations Research Department in Port Hueneme, California. In his spare time, he studied the stock market and developed his own evaluation model for stock options. He also pursued outdoor interests – bird hunting and backpacking. Through the Sierra Club singles group, he met Kathy Bryant, whom he married in 1972. Our son Aaron was born in 1973. We three continued to backpack, spending many Thanksgiving weekends in a tent in the forest. Richard built his first computer from kits and surplus parts. In 1979, we moved to Wenatchee. We had discovered it during a vacation trip, camping in a truck that Richard had modified. Richard used his knowledge of the stock market to provide income with assistance from Kathy’s employment as a physical therapist. He continued to keep up with developments in the computer field and over the years, we built three more computers from parts ordered online. We took up white water canoeing in the 1990’s. One especially memorable trip was paddling the 336 mile long Nahanni River in Canada, with Aaron and seven friends. We also paddled 158 other rivers. We hiked the Pacific Crest Trail in Washington, in sections. We were joined for some sections by Aaron and/or our good friend Jerry Garrett. We also enjoyed travel - to Canada, Russia, England, China, Australia, Chile, Turkey, Italy and New Zealand. In 2006, Richard located a son who was adopted after birth. James Lloyd, his wife Monique Lloyd and son Trevor Lloyd became part of our family. Pulmonary and cardiac problems worsened this last year. Richard died December 12th, peacefully at home, with the caring assistance of Confluence Health Home Care and Hospice. He was preceded in death by his mother, father, and brother. He is survived by his wife Kathy, son Aaron and his wife, Midori Takagi, son James and his wife Monique and grandchildren Kenzo Spencer-Takagi, Mika Spencer-Takagi, and Trevor Lloyd. A Celebration of Life is planned for late spring. Arrangements by Jones & Jones - Betts Funeral Home.

Tributes

Richard D Spencer

January 8, 1935 - December 12, 2024