Jan 20 2006
From Susan Elliott, “I was privileged to meet Irene at one of the first plate conventions in South Bend, Indiana, when I was a fledgling magazine editor [of Plate Collector magazine]. We became friends and I visited her home many times. She was one of the most gracious and generous people I have ever known. She appreciated beauty in small details of nature, such as a cluster of holly berries, or a single blossom that she would float on her breakfast table. Every detail of her home was beautiful, as was she.”
“I have lost a dear friend of 35 years,” says Marge Rosenberg, former owner of Carol’s Gift Shop in Artesia, California. “Irene was beautiful, warm, caring, and giving. She had a great sense of humor and was one of the finest artists of our generation. She will be missed.”
Spencer’s survivors include her daughter Jeanne, son Ted, one granddaughter, and two great-grandchildren. Ex-husband Joe Mastin, with whom she lived for 60 years, died in her home three weeks before Ms. Spencer’s death.
“She was a grand lady,” says Elliott.
