Former Crete resident, Harold Richard Spencer II, 86, died Dec. 27, 2024, at Journey House in Lincoln.
Richard was born July 2, 1938, in Lincoln, to Harold and Dorothy (VanDyke) Spencer. Growing up in the University Place neighborhood, he graduated from Northeast High School in 1956. The summer following high school, he joined the U.S. Navy and served four years as a musician stationed primarily in Naples, Italy.
Richard graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a degree in music education. He taught instrumental music in the Lincoln Public Schools, and was a part-time percussion instructor at the UN-L School of Music in the late 1960s. For 10 years, he owned and operated a Lincoln music store, Sound City, and the adjacent Century Sound Recording Studio.
Richard then worked 21 years at the Nebraska State Historical Society (NSHS), Museum of Nebraska History, as Curator of Education and retired in 2001. While at NSHS, he used his technical skills to help create interactive exhibits that included sound and motion sensor lighting.
Richard’s interests were history, traveling, music, gardening, computer technology, repairing old things and canoeing/camping. His canoeing began in the 1950s with Boy Scout trips on the Platte River, Missouri River and Canadian boundary waters. As an adult, he continued canoeing on Nebraska rivers and the Jacks Fork River in Missouri. Camping and canoeing trips were often family activities. For many years, his home was the gathering place for holidays and family events.
Richard had a lifelong entrepreneurial spirit that began in childhood, when he was an award-winning paper boy. As an adult, he engaged in many side ventures, including the Crete Commuter, Crazy Cracker Fireworks (a family favorite), Carnival Bag manufacturing, and an olive oil importing company that he worked on with Italian friends.
As a percussionist, and member of the Lincoln Musicians Union, Richard regularly played with many popular Nebraska bands, including The Mac-Five, Bobby Layne Orchestra, Spencer Trio, and Gene Harding and Friends. He also drummed with various touring bands when they had shows in Lincoln.
Over the years, Richard performed with the Lincoln Symphony Orchestra, Lincoln Municipal Band, UN-L Marching Band, UN-L Orchestra, and many local dance bands and combos. At the recording studio, he pressed numerous local acts to vinyl, and recorded jingles for area businesses who advertised on radio. He also served as sound engineer for numerous live shows. As a U.S. Navy musician, Richard was stationed for two years at the NATO base in Naples, Italy. He visited Italy several times later in life and traveled to many European countries.
Over the years, Richard served as a board member for The Friendship Force of Lincoln, the Wyuka Historical Foundation, the Lincoln Municipal Band and the Grace United Methodist Church in Crete.
Richard is survived by daughters, Sibyl Spencer Hilton (Russ), Jane Spencer, Laura Spencer, Elizabeth Spencer; daughter-in-law, Nancy Spencer: grandchildren, Marcus Murray, Jessica Hanusek (Thomas), Nicholas Hilton, Samantha Spencer, Owen Grenfell, Adella Sisson, and Iris Yates; one great-grandchild; and several cousins, nieces, and nephews.
The Spencer family thanks Joe Grenfell and George Sisson for their unwavering friendship and help in care taking of Richard throughout the years.
Richard was preceded in death by his parents; sister, Joan Beeney; son, Harold Richard Spencer III, and his longtime companion, Jeanne Zwiebel.
A memorial service was held Jan. 4 with interment in Wyuka Cemetery. Memorial contributions are suggested to the Foundation for Lincoln City Libraries.
