“A gentleman is one who puts more into the world than he takes out.” ~George Bernard Shaw
A proud Texan with a devotion to faith, family, community, friends, and strangers he always hoped to turn into new friends, James Horry “Jim” Spencer departed this life May 30, 2025. It is a life marked with selfless kindness for his fellow man in ways both tangible and intangible, with many acts known only to him and the beneficiaries of Jim’s kindness.
His sense of community was shaped early in life, which began September 7, 1931. The last surviving son of five children, Jim learned from his parents and siblings the importance and value of serving the community in which you live. Along the way, he served in the military, worked as a teacher, built relationships all across Texas and beyond in a corporate career, built and operated a small business, served in multiple roles in his church and community, made countless connections with people he encountered, and raised a family that learned from him the values of compassion and consistency.
Joining with five of his childhood friends as a young man, Jim entered military service as a communications specialist in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War. Serving in a unit which received and distributed all communications from the Far East, Jim met his wife, Nickie. She outranked Jim from Day-1, and that never changed.
Together, they built a family. Nickie taught her children tenacity. Jim taught consistency and patience. He attended The University of North Texas on the GI Bill and worked several years as a school teacher, but the best lessons were teaching his children math over a game of dominoes. He was a trained brick mason, and took on many weekend jobs in order to teach his sons the basics of skilled labor and work ethic. He spent a full career as a corporate sales representative, where he stayed because he was always mindful of his large family, working consistently for them. Upon retirement, he built a mini-storage business that started small and grew over time. Always consistent and patient, Jim worked into his early 80s.
As life progressed, Jim answered the call of service many times over. As a Sunday School Teacher, Usher, Trustee, and across several committees in the Methodist Church, to include a founding member of the annual Wild Game Dinner in Dripping Springs and other key fundraisers for the Church; a Member and Officer of the Austin SERTOMA (Service To Mankind) Club and SERTOMA International, recognized as SERTOMAN Of The Year by his peers; a Board Member of the Hays County Emergency Services District 4, shepherding the booming Dripping Springs area from a volunteer service to full-time, fully staffed first responders; a Board Member of the Hays County Appraisal Review Board, because he could not wait to vote in support of owners protesting their property tax bills, and other roles too numerous to list fully here. Jim did not seek out all these roles. He was called by pastors and community leaders because they knew Jim would say yes. And they knew he would consistently show up early, stay late, and find solutions. Sometimes, the job required Jim to display his secret expertise as a brick mason or carpenter. Sometimes it required his extraordinary patience in bringing people together to resolve difficult issues. While life is fleeting, Jim made the most of making his impact where he found opportunities to do so, always with his signature dry wit and gentlemanly manner.
Jim was many things to many people, but was most proud of being a good father. That is, of course, until he became a grandfather. He was definitely most proud of that when he first became “PaPa,” in 1987; and every day after. He embarked on teaching a new generation of his family his hallmark patience and consistency, doing it even better than he did with the generation before.
In his later years, Jim enjoyed the wisdom, stories and tall tales of his friends and peers shared over breakfast at Oak Creek Cafe's Table of Knowledge. The friendships forged over that table were some of his favorites.
In 93½ years of life, Jim made lasting impressions on people as a good and decent man, often described as “One of the last true gentlemen.”
Jim is survived by a large family, including children, Ann (and Ken) Zintak, Catherine (and Ralph) Ferguson, Patricia Hess, Theresa (and Vince) Apps, Russell (and Kristin) Spencer, Stephen Spencer, and daughter-in-law Kippling Spencer; grandchildren, Caitlin (and Chad) Withee, Stephen "Rusty" Hess, Jimmy (and Taylor) Spencer, Madison (and Ryan) Brown, Michael Spencer, Spencer (and Danni) Zintak, Sydney (and Archian) Ervin, and Lindsay Spencer; great-grandchildren, Jacob, Tyson, and Lilliana Withee; sister-in-law Sharron (and Doug) Rogers; several nieces, nephews and extended family members.
Jim is preceded in death by his wife of 71-years, Ruth Ann “Nickie” Spencer, parents Joseph Horry and Laura Belle Baker Spencer, sisters Verna Eldora “Dodie” (and Bill) Souder and Catherine Maybelle (and A. Lyn) Gregory, and brothers Marion Gerald “Jerry” Spencer and Wandsley Carroll Spencer.
Caring for an aging parent properly is a true calling. For the last 647 days of his life, his daughter, Ann, relocated to provide full-time, attentive, comprehensive care when Jim’s needs were at their greatest. She did it without complaint, with very little respite, and all with an extraordinary combination of love and humor that sustained her Daddy through to his peaceful passing. Ann, the entire family is grateful beyond words for your compassion and advocacy!
A Memorial Service celebrating Jim's life will be held at 11:00 AM, June 14, 2025 at First Methodist Church, 105 LBJ Drive, Johnson City, Texas. A luncheon in the Fellowship Hall will follow immediately after the service. Jim's family requests the honor of your presence to share a memory, a laugh or two, and some much-appreciated hugs. Wearing your favorite shade of BLUE would be a beautiful tribute to Jim.
The family would be so grateful for donations in lieu of flowers to:
St Jude Children’s Research Hospital
By Mail to:
ALSAC/St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
501 St. Jude Place
Memphis, TN 38105
Or online at https://fundraising.stjude.org/site/TR?px=8837568&fr_id=157660&pg=personal
OR
First Methodist Church Johnson City
By Mail to:
P.O. Box 207
Johnson City, TX 78636
Or online at https://www.fmcjc.com/
