Wilburn Ross Spencer

December 2, 1923 - October 16, 2017

Wilburn Ross Spencer, 93, of Tyler, TX, formerly of Murrayville, passed away, Oct. 16, 2017, in Tyler, TX. He was born, Dec. 2, 1923, in Beardstown, the son of William Henry and Hazel Spencer. He married Faye B. Smock, Aug. 22, 1943. She preceded him in death, May 28,1993. Surviving are sons, Larry (wife, Kay) Spencer of Bullard, TX and Randy (wife, Carolyn) Spencer of San Antonio, TX; five grandchildren; and fourteen great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by sisters, Joyce Witherbee and Doris Phillips; brothers, Ronald and L. Ward Spencer. Mr. Spencer graduated from Murrayville High School in 1941. He was inducted into the Army Air Corps in 1943. In 1945, he was stationed in Hawaii then deployed to Osaka, Japan. He was discharged from the Corps in 1946. Following his discharge, he attended business college and began a career in retail with JCPenney. In 1952, he returned to Murrayville to work for the Herman Baker, John Deere and Chevrolet dealerships. In May 1955, he was appointed Postmaster of the Murrayville Post Office serving until his retirement in May 1987. Mr. Spencer was a life time member of Murrayville Baptist Church serving as church treasurer and Sunday School teacher. He, along with others, started the first American Legion Little League baseball program for the Murrayville community. In later years, he was a member of Lincoln Avenue Baptist Church in Jacksonville serving as a deacon. Following relocation to Tyler, he was a member of Sylvania Baptist Church. Funeral services will be held 11:00 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 21, 2017, at the Daws Family Funeral Home in Murrayville with interment in Murrayville City Cemetery. Visitation will be held Saturday from 9:00 a.m. until time of services at the funeral home