Obituary

John Randolph Gladden Spence
October 7, 1949 - November 30, 2022

John Randolph Gladden Spence (Randy), was born on October 7, 1949, in Abilene, Texas. He died on November 30, 2022, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, of a sudden heart attack, in his sleep.

Randy's mother was the former Wanda May Smith of Loraine, Texas. His father was Vernon Gladden Spence of Tangier Island, Virginia.

On March 10, 1984, he married Martha Sibley, of Abilene, who survives him. Also surviving Randy are his brother Kevin Spence and sister-in-law Lisa Winston Spence, niece Emma Spence Withiam and her husband Taylor Withiam, and sister Deborah Spence Schiro, brother -in-law Tony Schiro, and niece Jennifer Schiro. Survivors also include his many other close relatives and friends, and his faithful Boston Terrier Ellie.

In his life he lived in Texas, Virginia, and New Mexico. He made and kept strong ties with family and friends throughout his life, extending back to even kindergarten and first grade.

Randy will be lovingly remembered for his passion for travel. His own travels took him all over the world, which he could talk about and write about with enthusiasm that made us all want to hop a plane there as soon as possible. He returned again and again to Hawaii, where his toughest decision of the day was Mai Tai or no Mai Tai.

As a professional travel agent, he excelled in helping people make the most of their travel experiences. He enjoyed planning travel for others almost as much as traveling himself. He was more than just a travel agent - he was the ideal travel agent, totally devoted to the trip's success, whether the traveler was a new client or a family member.

His hobbies, in addition to travel, were gardening and history, and he was a wonderful booster for the wonders and beauty of New Mexico. Another hobby was watching TV cooking shows, where he would pick up recipes - for Martha to cook. His sense of humor and ability to enjoy everything there was to be enjoyed in any situation will be long remembered.

Randy was the "family memory." Whenever the "oldies" in the family could not remember a detail of a decades-past event, we would call Randy and he would remember.

He enjoyed attending Cooper High School and McMurry College in Abilene, and graduated with a BA in Business from George Mason University in Fairfax,Virginia, in 1972.

To his niece, Emma, he was "the best uncle and godfather anyone ever had." He was also a wonderful husband and brother, and wonderful in too many other ways to count. Randy was beloved, and will be sorely missed.