Dr. George Elwood Spencer (Papacito), 82, recently of Las Vegas, Nevada, died Thursday, December 15, 1994 in a Las Vegas hospital.
He was born in Taylorsville, Utah May 29, 1912; received his B.S. in '33 and his M.S. in '35 from Utah State University in agriculture and education; Ford Fellowship at Cornell University in '55 and '56; Ph.D. from Cornell in '58 in Rural Sociology and Cultural Anthropology. Spencer was a technician and administrator in the United States Foreign Service, specializing in education and community development in seven foreign countries between '49 and '72, including Bolivia, Guatemala, Peru, Jordan, Cambodia, the Philippines and Panama. Prior to his foreign service, he taught science, math, and vocational agriculture in Fillmore, Utah, Costa Mesa, California and El Centro, California where "Elwood" coached the 1948 Central Wrestling Team to an undefeated season winning the C.I.F. Southern Section and the Southern Pacific A.A.U. Championships, setting records that still stand. "George" served in the United States Peace Corps under its founding Director, Sargent Shriver, and was previously chairman of the Deschutes County Democratic Party in Oregon, as well as a delegate to the National Democratic Conventions of '76, '84 and '88. "Spence" was an activist against nuclear weapons, supported environmentalist organizations, sponsored political refugees from Cambodia, was a lifetime humanitarian and opposed to the increasing militarism throughout the world.In addition to his worldwide family of "kindred spirits", "Papacito" is survived by his wife of 60 years, Anna, of Las Vegas, Nevada; son, Berkley and Kurtice, Provo, Utah; Richard, Bend, Oregon; and Keith, Las Vegas, Nevada; daughters, Beverly Ballif, Las Vegas, Nevada; and Fran Cliff, Franklin, Tennessee; brothers, Ashby and Raymond Bennion, both of Murray, Utah; 17 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren (George also supported Planned Parenthood)!
Private services will be held on May 29, 1995 at a Memorial Day family reunion in Las Vegas.
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