In Memory Of
William "Bill" Spencer
1929
2015
William "Bill" Spencer
March 22, 1929 — June 18, 2015
William "Bill" Spencer, 89, passed away Thursday, June 18, 2015, at Oakley Place.
Bill was born March 22, 1926, in Kansas City, MO, to Erwin and Edith Spencer. He graduated from East High School in Kansas City and the University of Missouri with a BA in engineering. Bill began his telephone career with Southwestern Bell in 1948 as a Junior Engineer in Kansas City, MO. From 1950 to 1952, Bill served in the Signal Corps Plant Engineering Agency at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. He engineered and installed military communication equipment during the Korean War. On November 14, 1952, he married Ferne Nieder, in Kansas City, MO. They moved to Topeka, KS and he was appointed Senior Engineer in the Building and Equipment group at Southwestern Bell in 1954. He later moved to Plant Extension where he prepared a number of wire center and metropolitan service studies. In 1961, he joined the Bell Telephone Laboratories in Homedale, NJ, as a member of the Technical Staff and worked on the development of electronic switching systems. In 1966, he returned to Topeka and was made Equipment Maintenance Engineer in 1969. In 1976, he was appointed Engineering Operations Manager and in 1979 appointed to the position of District Manager – Maintenance Engineering. In September 1986, he retired.
Bill was an active member of Telephone Pioneers where he served two terms as president. He was also a member of the Topeka Engineering Club, Active Primetimers, and Brookwood Covenant Church where Bill and Ferne were leaders of the Joy Group. Bill and Ferne spent their retirement years traveling the world and spending time with family. He spent some time inventing medical equipment and loved working on his family's genealogy. Bill was recognized in the Who's Who in America and Who's Who in the World.
He was preceded in death by his parents; two sons, Gary and Jim Spencer; and brother, Robert Spencer, of Kansas City, MO.
Bill is survived by his loving wife, Ferne Spencer; two daughters, Elizabeth (Bruce) Spencer Rabb and Catherine (Mike) Patterson; two daughters-in-law; six grandchildren; two step-grandchildren; four great-granddaughters; one niece; and one nephew.
A funeral ceremony will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 24, 2015, at the Penwell-Gabel Mid-Town Chapel, 1321 SW 10th Ave, Topeka. Interment will follow at Penwell-Gabel Cemetery, Topeka. The family will greet friends an hour prior to the service.
Memorial contributions may be made to Brookwood Covenant Church, 3601 SW 33rd Street, Topeka, KS 66614 and the Alzheimer's Association, 3625 SW 29th St. Suite 102, Topeka, KS 66614.
To leave a special message for William's family, please visit the guestbook below.
Bill was born March 22, 1926, in Kansas City, MO, to Erwin and Edith Spencer. He graduated from East High School in Kansas City and the University of Missouri with a BA in engineering. Bill began his telephone career with Southwestern Bell in 1948 as a Junior Engineer in Kansas City, MO. From 1950 to 1952, Bill served in the Signal Corps Plant Engineering Agency at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. He engineered and installed military communication equipment during the Korean War. On November 14, 1952, he married Ferne Nieder, in Kansas City, MO. They moved to Topeka, KS and he was appointed Senior Engineer in the Building and Equipment group at Southwestern Bell in 1954. He later moved to Plant Extension where he prepared a number of wire center and metropolitan service studies. In 1961, he joined the Bell Telephone Laboratories in Homedale, NJ, as a member of the Technical Staff and worked on the development of electronic switching systems. In 1966, he returned to Topeka and was made Equipment Maintenance Engineer in 1969. In 1976, he was appointed Engineering Operations Manager and in 1979 appointed to the position of District Manager – Maintenance Engineering. In September 1986, he retired.
Bill was an active member of Telephone Pioneers where he served two terms as president. He was also a member of the Topeka Engineering Club, Active Primetimers, and Brookwood Covenant Church where Bill and Ferne were leaders of the Joy Group. Bill and Ferne spent their retirement years traveling the world and spending time with family. He spent some time inventing medical equipment and loved working on his family's genealogy. Bill was recognized in the Who's Who in America and Who's Who in the World.
He was preceded in death by his parents; two sons, Gary and Jim Spencer; and brother, Robert Spencer, of Kansas City, MO.
Bill is survived by his loving wife, Ferne Spencer; two daughters, Elizabeth (Bruce) Spencer Rabb and Catherine (Mike) Patterson; two daughters-in-law; six grandchildren; two step-grandchildren; four great-granddaughters; one niece; and one nephew.
A funeral ceremony will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 24, 2015, at the Penwell-Gabel Mid-Town Chapel, 1321 SW 10th Ave, Topeka. Interment will follow at Penwell-Gabel Cemetery, Topeka. The family will greet friends an hour prior to the service.
Memorial contributions may be made to Brookwood Covenant Church, 3601 SW 33rd Street, Topeka, KS 66614 and the Alzheimer's Association, 3625 SW 29th St. Suite 102, Topeka, KS 66614.
To leave a special message for William's family, please visit the guestbook below.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of William "Bill" Spencer, please visit our flower store.
Service Schedule
Past Services
Visitation
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
12:00 - 1:00 pm (Central time)
Penwell-Gabel - Mid-Town Chapel
Service
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
Starts at 1:00 pm (Central time)
Penwell-Gabel - Mid-Town Chapel
Guestbook
Visits: 0
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the
Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Service map data © OpenStreetMap contributors