1924-2019
John went to be with the Lord on April 28, 2019 at the age of 94 after a month of medical treatment. He is survived by his wife of 66 years, Barbara, and their children, Claudia and Gary and their families, along with nieces and nephews.
John Torrey Spencer was born July 6, 1924 to parents Floyd and Marguerite Spencer who resided in their Beverly Hills home with two older sons, Floyd and Stanley. When John was six months of age his father suddenly died following surgery. His future childhood years of expected privilege suddenly changed to one of struggle and hard work. His mother moved her sons to an apartment in Los Angeles where she found work. Their grandmother came to live with them and help care for the boys. John attended public schools in Los Angeles and left in the middle of his senior year to enlist in the Army Air Corps during WWII, serving in the South Pacific.
After the war ended John settled in Stockton to be close to his mother who had moved there. He attended night school to get his high school diploma, and then used his GI Bill to help pay for a college education. He graduated from College of the Pacific in 1951 and was hired by Farmers Insurance to become an adjuster. Farmers sent him to a company school in Los Angeles to learn the insurance business, followed by an internship in their Fresno office. After finishing the internship, he was assigned to the Visalia office to service claims for Tulare County.
In June of 1952 he attended the Dairy Fiesta dance in Tulare where he met his future wife, Barbara, who was home from college during her summer vacation. Their first date was the Fourth of July and they were married in December of the same year after a whirlwind courtship. They established their home in Visalia and started their family and lived there for 10 years.
With time, Farmers developed a need for additional experienced claims men in Sacramento and offered John a position in their Sacramento District Office. The company moved the family to Sacramento and added John to their expanding claims department. John enhanced his claims background by attending McGeorge School of Law and took courses in torts, which helped him deal with their attorneys in his claims work. John was eventually promoted to Senior Claims Adjuster and handled some of their most difficult cases. He retired after 31 years in the claims department of Farmers Insurance. After his wife retired, they took many trips in the US as well as traveling abroad visiting countries in Europe.
In later years they relocated to Folsom for its small town living and spent many summers in South lake Tahoe enjoying the cooler weather. During these final years John was a member of the Folsom Journey Church, Folsom SIR group, and was a part of a group of men that served in WWII, who enjoyed monthly lunches together.
A memorial service will be held at Journey Church, 450 Blue Ravine Road, Folsom, CA on May 18, 2019 at 11:00 am. Lunch will follow in the social hall.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.MountVernonMemorial.com for the Spencer family.
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