Caroline Radcliffe "Carrie" R. Spencer

Carrie Spencer, beloved daughter of George and Polly Spencer, died on December 30. Diagnosed with a brain stem tumor when she was 17 months old, Carrie endured many tortures to save her life – surgeries, chemotherapies, radiations, hospitalizations – and she stared defiantly at death numerous times, until it came and took her quietly, peacefully as she slept very early in the morning. She was an example of answered prayer - but prayer answered in a different and, in God’s wisdom, better way. Carrie was fascinated by cats. She liked to be outside and kept, in her earlier years, large collections of laurel beans, snails, doodlebugs, feathers and other things she picked up in the yard. She liked to play with drinking straws and placed them end to end to make “cat teasers.” She drew with markers, mainly cats but sometimes other things she saw around her. She lost her hearing in her medical treatments and communicated only with her very limited number of signs, but she managed to make her wishes known. She never cared much for school. Over the years, she became increasingly debilitated – and yet, she captivated almost everyone with her obvious vulnerabilities, her engaging, infectious, crooked little smile and her enduring love of cats and all things yellow and red. Her life was a model of perseverance against all odds, and we admired her for that - despite wishing at times that she would be not quite so hard to get along with! To say that she loved unconditionally would be not quite accurate – she certainly had her standards, which caused her family to refer to her as “The Big Cheese” – but she never ever doubted our love for her and our willingness to care for her. She returned that love and care with great abundance. We are all better people for having shared her life. She taught us what it means to care for and love “the least of among us;” by doing so, we care for and love God’s own presence here on earth.

“Do you love me?................. Feed my sheep.” John 21:17

Carrie resides now with her grandparents, Charles and Ruth Jackson and George and Virginia Spencer.

In addition to her parents, Carrie is survived by her three younger siblings and their spouses who loved and cared for her as well: George Spencer III (Michael Castrilli), Virginia “Ginny” Summers (John Summers), Warren Spencer (Ruth Spencer), her nephew Franklin Summers, her niece Caroline Summers, and numerous aunts, uncles, cousins, and extended family.

The family is exceedingly grateful for the years of faithful, loving care provided by her caregiver, Diane M. Rodriguez, and for the understanding, sympathetic and generous medical care of Dr. Nora Walker.

Donations in her memory, if desired, may be made to any charity of your choice or to St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Sunshine Cottage School for Deaf Children, or the San Antonio Food Bank.

Prelude will start at 1:10 pm prior to the 1:30 pm service.

Her funeral service will be at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church at 1:30 P.M, on Sunday, January 3rd, but due to COVID considerations will be for immediate family only.

The service will be live-streamed and available for later viewing by those who wish. You may find the link below.