William Conrad Spencer II

William Conrad “Bill/Connie” Spencer, II, 89, of Henrico, VA went to his eternal reward on June 27, 2022 with his wife of almost 65 years, Mary, by his side. He was born on September 9, 1932 in Belhaven, NC, the son of the late Herman Bly Spencer and Marjorie Noble Spencer. He is survived by his devoted wife, Mary Rose Robertson Spencer; son, William C. Spencer, III of Ruther Glen, VA; daughter Elizabeth S. Gay (Eddie) of White Stone, VA; grandsons, Hunter Spencer (Kimberly) of Winter Park, FL, and Travis Spencer of Henrico, VA; step-great-grandsons, Collins and Jackson Hoover, of Winter Park, FL; sister, Anne S. Best of Raleigh, NC; and many other family members. He was a kind and good family man who excelled in any endeavor he was involved in and will be missed.

Mr. Spencer graduated from Goldsboro (NC) High School in 1951. He attended Mars Hill College for one year before enlisting in the U.S. Air Force where he honorably served from January 1953 – December 1956, having attained the rank of Staff Sergeant. Upon discharge from the military, he enrolled in North Carolina State University and received his B.S. Degree in Electrical Engineering in 1960.

He met his wife, Mary, on a blind date and they were married on August 18, 1957. They lived in Raleigh, NC; Waltham, MA; Newport News, VA; Piqua, OH; and Gaithersburg, MD before moving to Richmond in early 1967. He got into the nuclear field while employed by the Newport News Shipyard when the U.S. nuclear aircraft carrier Enterprise was being built. In Ohio, he worked at a prototype nuclear power plant. He came to Richmond employed by VEPCO (now Dominion Energy) and was instrumental in the building of the Surry and the North Anna Nuclear Power plants. He rose to the position of Vice President of Engineering before leaving the company in early 1985, after which he served as President of William C. Spencer Co., Inc., a consulting firm to electric power companies.

He was a fan of NASCAR and N.C. State football and basketball. In his late 30’s, he discovered a passion for sailboat racing. The family joined Fishing Bay Yacht Club in Deltaville, VA in 1975 and he was elected to Life Membership in 2008. After serving in many positions on the Board, he became Commodore of the club in 1994. Over the years, he owned many sailboats and raced on four of the Great Lakes. He participated in 20 Mid-Winter regattas at the Davis Island Yacht Club in Tampa, FL; 16 Down-the-Bay races from Annapolis, MD to Hampton, VA (won four times); and many races in the Chesapeake Bay out of Deltaville and Hampton, VA. He owned several San Juan 21’s, a San Juan 24, and was partner on a Kirby 30 before designing and building Short Circuit, a 25-foot fiberglass sailboat that he built in his garage. After racing that boat successfully for nine years, he bought the salvage of a J-29 and re-built that boat, Resurrection, which he raced for four years. He then designed the one-design Front Runner sailboat and raced Red Dog for 14 years. During that time, he also added three feet to a Front Runner hull to build a Spencer 22 named White Lightning that he raced for seven years.

Mr. Spencer was a faithful member of Derbyshire Baptist Church for over 55 years. He served on Teller Committee for many years until being diagnosed with dementia in March 2020. He was lovingly cared for at home by his wife but lived the last three months of his life in an assisted living memory care facility where he passed away.

The memorial service will be held on Friday, July 29, 2022, at 1:00 PM at Derbyshire Baptist Church. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Derbyshire Baptist Church, 8800 Derbyshire Road, Henrico, VA 23229. Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.woodyfuneralhomeparham.com for the Spencer family.