Thomas E. Spence Sr.

Born on August 3, 1942, in DeFuniak Springs, Florida.

Tommy spent his life building, fixing, serving, and loving with unwavering loyalty and quiet faith. Though life led him many places throughout the years, his journey would ultimately bring him home, where his ashes will be laid to rest on the land where he was born.

Tommy moved his family to Houston in 1973 and spent more than four decades working throughout the Pasadena, Deer Park, La Porte, and greater Ship Channel area in the oil, gas, and chemical industries. A graduate with a degree in Chemistry, he began his career as a lead laboratory technician with Air Products along the Ship Channel before eventually transitioning into the field service and engineering side of the industry.

He later became a highly respected Customer Engineer for Hewlett-Packard and Agilent Technologies, where he ultimately retired after years of dedicated service. Tommy was known throughout the industry for his brilliance, remarkable mathematical mind, and unmatched ability to troubleshoot and repair gas chromatographs. Those who worked beside him often joked there wasn’t a gas chromatograph he could not fix. His work took him throughout Texas and Louisiana, including many hospitals and medical facilities within the Texas Medical Center, where his expertise and reliability earned the respect of colleagues and customers alike.

Tommy was preceded in death by his parents, Floyd and Elizabeth Spence and daughter Elizabeth Marie Spence.

He is survived by his wife, Florence Spence; his son, Thomas Earl Spence, Jr. and wife, Deidre Spence; and his daughter, Renee Spence. He is also survived by his grandchildren, Dakota Simpson and partner, Kennedy Back; Jude Simpson and wife, June Simpson; and granddaughter, Yulia Rusanova. Tommy was blessed with great-grandchildren Alexander “Sasha” McGowan and Valeria McGowan, who brought him great joy.

He is also survived by his former wife of 48 years, Amanda, with whom he shared much of his life and family; his sister, Judy Carnley and husband, Lee; niece, Jana White; brother, Michael Spence and wife, Cindy; nephews, Alvin Spence and Christopher Spence; as well as numerous Spence and Brannon family in-laws, nieces, nephews, great-nieces, great-nephews, and countless lifelong friends who became family throughout the years.

Tommy was a man of deep and abiding faith who never felt the need to force his beliefs upon others. Instead, he simply lived a life that reflected the love, grace, and quiet strength of Christ. Even through life’s hardships and challenges, he rarely complained and continued to show compassion, generosity, and steadfast love to those around him.

One of Tommy’s greatest gifts was storytelling, a gift passed down from his father and shared with his brother Michael. Throughout the final week of his life, friends and loved ones repeatedly reflected on the stories Tommy told and the joy, laughter, and comfort he brought to others simply by being himself.

Outside of work, Tommy enjoyed restoring and collecting clocks, creating stained glass pieces, and taking on nearly any home or automotive repair project imaginable often preferring to do the work himself because he trusted his own hands and knowledge more than anyone else’s. Even well into his seventies, there was rarely a project he wouldn’t tackle.

Tommy was an active member of Grace Church and deeply cherished the friendships and fellowship he found within the Joy Class. Over the years, the men and women of his church became an extended family, offering support, encouragement, and companionship through every season of life.

While no formal Houston service will be held, Tommy’s family will honor his life with a Celebration of Life in September in his hometown of DeFuniak Springs, where his ashes will be spread on the family homestead, returning him home to his final resting place.

In lieu of flowers, Tom and Renee Spence request donations be made in Tommy’s memory to the American Cancer Society, a local church, or the charity of your choice.

His legacy lives on in the family he loved, the countless people he helped along the way, and the stories that will continue to be told for generations to come.