THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 10, 1995 TAG: 9509100031
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B7 EDITION: FINAL
DATELINE: MARIANNA, FLA. LENGTH: Short : 42 lines
Michael Warren Spencer, who would have been 31 on Oct. 18, 1995, died Sept. 8, 1995, in Campbell-Graceville Hospital near Marianna, after an extended illness caused by AIDS.
He was born in Valdosta, Ga., and lived there and in Japan, but spent most of his youth in Sumter, S.C., and Homestead, Fla., where he graduated from Homestead Senior High School. He worked as a retail salesman, but mostly as a waiter for 14 years at family and fine dining restaurants in Coconut Grove, Miami Beach, Coral Gables, Key West and Atlanta. He attended Key West Community College.
He volunteered in recent years with the AIDS Hotline in Key West and the Bay AIDS Service and Informational Coalition in Panama City. At various times he sang with school, church and theater choirs and with a band. He moved from Key West, leaving many friends behind, in March of 1994, to reside with his mother in Marianna. He was by faith in Jesus Christ, a member of the Modello Baptist Church in Homestead. He most recently attended First Baptist Church of Marianna, and had recently recommitted his faith.
He was preceded in death by his brother, Jeffrey D. Spencer; his maternal grandmother and grandfather, Howard and Dorothy Richards; and his paternal grandfather, George Spencer. Survivors include his mother, Anne R. Spencer of Marianna; his father, Donald R. Spencer of Swansea, S.C.; his brother, Douglas H. Spencer of Virginia Beach; two nieces, Lee Anne Spencer of Maryville, Tenn., and Cassandra Lee Spencer of Lawton, Okla.; paternal grandmother, Margaret Spencer of Lawton; and aunts, uncles, and cousins.
The funeral will be held at 2 p.m. Tuesday in the Marianna Chapel Funeral Home, with the Rev. Tony Martin officiating. Interment will be private. Friends may call at the funeral home from 5 to 7 p.m. Monday. Flowers will be appreciated or memorials may be made to the Hospice of Northwest Florida, 2954 Pennsylvania Ave., Marianna, Fla. 32448, or to Bay AIDS Service and Information Coalition, P.O. Box 805, Panama City, Fla. 32402
KEYWORDS: DEATH OBITUARY by CNB