Ralph LeRoy Spencer Jr.

Ralph LeRoy Spencer, Jr., 92, of Swansea, Illinois, born 5 days after Christmas in 1929, peacefully departed for his final fishing and hunting adventure on April 24, 2022. He will join his wife, Patricia, who departed early in 2016 to make preparations for his arrival. They will also be joined there by their parents, Ralph Sr. and his wife Fairlene, and Grover and Mable Crawford, along with Pat’s sister Rosemarie and her husband, Tom Brown, and many, many of their good friends.

Ralph met Pat, the love of his life, very early in their lives at East St. Louis High School (Class of February ‘48), and they were married in 1950, enjoying 66 years of marriage. He served three years in the Armed Forces, spending time in Korea in a M*A*S*H unit as a Medical Technician. He built them a home in 1955 in what is now Fairview Heights, IL, and they lived in the immediate area for the rest of their lives. During that time, they enjoyed going to the Ozarks, where they went on their honeymoon, and had a cozy vacation home they shared with friends and family, especially their Supper Club group, that included his dearest friend, Marilyn Burrelsman and her husband Frank.

Ralph began working at the C. K. Williams Company in 1954 and continued there through various company mergers until his retirement from Pfizer in 1992. Ralph was a home handyman, an expert griller, an avid fisherman and hunter. The Spencers traveled to all 50 states, Canada, Mexico, and to many countries in Europe. He was also a member of the Elks, the Moose, the Shriners and the Masons.

Ralph was a devoted father to his two children: Scott Spencer (Wilson Compton) of Washington, DC, and Julie Hamann (Melissa Maxwell) of Belleville. A loving brother to Barbara (Robert) Greaves of Las Cruces, NM; G’Pa to his two grandchildren: Timothy Spencer (Stacey) of St. Charles, MO, and David Hamann of Orlando, Fl.; and most recently he was Pop Pop to his one great-grandson, Myles Scott Spencer; a second father to his two nieces and two nephews, and a faithful cousin and friend.

Ralph’s family cemetery in Roodhouse, IL, where the family home has been for more that 200 yrs., contains a great deal of Spencer family history and was an important part of his life. We are asking that memorial contributions be sent there to help support the effort to keep the property maintained and beautiful. Please send your memorial gift to: Martin’s Prairie Cemetery, c/o Dixie Garner, 721 NE 1450 St., Roodhouse, IL. 62082, and be sure to include Ralph’s name.

There will be a private, graveside ceremony at a future date at Lake View Memorial Gardens, Fairview Heights, IL.