Obituary of Joe William Spencer

Joe William Spencer, Sr., 84, of Lebanon TN died on Tuesday, April 8, 2014. Joe was born in Batesville AR on February 15, 1930. He was the son of George B. Spencer, Sr. and Thelma Lowe Spencer. Joe attended secondary school in Paris and Fordyce AR, Minden LA and graduated from Star City High School where he was president of the student body and captain of the football team. Joe graduated from the University of Arkansas where he was a member of the Blue Key society. After raising chickens for a number of years, he worked for 40 years as a professional safety engineer in AR, LA, TN, and Australia. Joe joined the United States Air Force and served 3 ? years as a pilot and member of the Pilot Class of 1955. Joe was an active member of the Methodist Church, serving as chairman of the local administrative boards in four states as well as teaching Sunday school class. Spencer served as the chairman of the Southern Pulp and Paper Safety Association and was a Regional Vice President of the American Society of Safety Engineers. He was preceded in death by his parents, his sister Gwen, and his brother George. He is survived by his wife of 54 years, Judy Townsend Spencer and their children Joe and Pegi Spencer of Richardson TX; Lance and Julie Spencer of Peachtree City GA; Mark and Angie Spencer of Kingsport TN; and Adrian and Elizabeth Goad of Smyrna TN. He will also be missed by his eight grandchildren. Visitation will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, April 13, at the Lebanon United Methodist Church (415 W. Main St.) in the Bryant Chapel parlor. Funeral services will be held at 3:00 p.m. at the Lebanon United Methodist Church in the Bryant Chapel. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Lebanon United Methodist Church or to the St. Jude Children's Hospital.