Hugh Gerald Spence Jr.

On the morning of Thursday, May 26, 2022, the Spence family unexpectedly lost their “Big Guy” at the age of 72. The world has lost a precious and loving husband, father, grandfather, brother, teacher, coach, mentor, and friend.

Hugh Gerald Spence, Jr. was born in Columbus, GA on December 9, 1949 to proud father Hugh Gerald Spence, Sr. and mother Anne Thomas Spence. As the second of 4 generations of Blue Devils, Hugh graduated from Columbus High School before attending The University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) for two years. The country became engulfed in war and Hugh accepted the draft into the Army to serve a tour of duty as an Army Medic in the Vietnam War. After completing his service in the Army, Hugh enrolled to finish his undergraduate degree at Auburn University.

Hugh and Connie married in the spring of 1984 and were delighted to make their home and continue growing their family in Arlington, TX. Experiencing success early in his career as a salesman for Tom’s Snack Foods, he pursued his M.B.A. at Dallas Baptist University completing his advanced degree in 1990. He then made a career transition to pursue one of his passions as a teacher and educator. Hugh transformed the lives of high school students in the classroom and on the playing field to prepare them for adulthood. He completed his public school career as an Assistant Principal where he dutifully served his students and colleagues for many years at Arlington Independent School District’s Sam Houston High School. Hugh retired from education in 2017 filled with “Sam Side Pride” and a thirst for new adventures.

Never one to sit idle, Hugh began embracing retirement with his newfound free time by planning “bucket list” trips, spending time with his growing number of grandchildren, researching family ancestry, landscaping his yard to perfection, enjoying evening reflection time on the lawn with Connie (aka Happy Hour) and earning his stripes as a “grill master.” He especially enjoyed the sunrises and sunsets at the beach. Always the history buff, Hugh was planning a trip across Europe following the path of the “Band of Brothers” in WWII as they fought to defeat the Nazi’s. He was proud to share his love of history and soon had Connie looking forward to the “history trip of a lifetime”.

Hugh is survived by his loving and adoring wife of 38 years, Connie; his 2 daughters, Stacie Berard (Leo) and Elizabeth; his 2 sons, Trey (Hugh III) (Ashley), Chandler (Kimberly); his 7 grandchildren, Cambrie, Brayden, Spence, Banks, TJ (Hugh IV), Brady, and Davis; scores of extended family, and his loyal canine companion, Rebel.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be sent to the SPCA at https://www.spcai.org/ and St. Jude Children’s Hospital at https://www.stjude.org/