Daniel Glen Spencer

Daniel Glen Spencer, our beloved husband, father, son, brother and uncle passed away on Wednesday May 25, 2022. Dan was born on July 20, 1952 in Salt Lake City, Utah to Glen Carlton and Venice (Goodsell) Spencer - he was the first of 5 children. Attended West High School, class of 1970. In 1972 he was drafted and joined the Army National Guard, where he served 6 years. In 1974, he started working for EIMCO Mining Machinery with his dad where he built underground mining equipment until the mid-1980’s, when they closed and moved overseas. Dan then worked for Eaton Kenway for a short while until he was hired by the Salt Lake City Fire Department in 1991; where he spent 20 years as an engineer, retiring from Salt Lake City Fire Station 11 in December 2011.

Dan married Terri Ann Trivett in July 1974 and in September 1975 their son Glen William was born. In September ‘76 they bought a home where they still live, just 10 miles from where they both grew up.

When Glen started playing sports, Dan became his coach. Dan spent hours reading books, watching videos, and working with Glen in the yard or at the baseball field & batting cages. The two spent thousands of hours together at the field - a place where Dan taught Glen the lessons of hard work, perseverance, humility and grit. His saying was “life is not fair, and sometimes you can do everything right, and still take a ball to the face”. Dan spent 5+ years coaching teams that Glen played on with a lot of on field success. But Dan’s real success as a coach & mentor showed many years later. Coaching just a few dozen kids from west side Salt Lake County - more than 15 kids played college baseball, 5 guys played professional baseball including Glen, with 2 making it to the Major Leagues.

If Dan was not at the baseball field, you would find him hunting. A pastime he began at a young age with his dad, uncles, brothers, and friends. In his younger years he was always hunting something somewhere but eventually narrowing it to only waterfowl. When the best hunting spots along the Wasatch Front dried up or disappeared, he started hunting around the world in places as remote as Azerbaijan, Argentina, Aleutian Islands, the Netherlands, and Canada. Saskatchewan, Canada was his favorite. At first it was just a trip in the fall for couple of weeks. Over the years, eventually his time up north became a few weeks in the spring and a few months in the fall. Dan made many friends in Canada; One in particular had a huge farm and ranch which Dan volunteered to help him plant in the spring and harvest in the fall. He enjoyed it so much, he said he could have been a farmer. When Dan wasn’t farming or hunting, he and his faithful dog, Sasha, enjoyed just sitting on the Saskatchewan River watching the geese come in by the 1000s.

A serviceman at heart where he served his country, his city & state, and the wildlife of North America as he spent over 30 years doing volunteer work for the Utah Division of Natural Resources, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife, and the Canadian Wildlife Federation. He was an expert on the North American Pacific & Central flyways and the migration patterns of geese.

He held many different roles throughout his life and was a friend to many, but most importantly he was a proud grandpa to Jackson Daniel and Portia Laurane, a role that he loved.

He is survived by his wife Terri, son Glen (Tiffany Lynn Cruz), grandchildren Jackson and Portia, his mother Venice, siblings Jeffery (Sandy) Spencer, Debbie (Tom) Knorr, Christine (Alan) Rogers, and Doug (Eileen) Spencer, Sasha and many nieces and nephews. Preceded in death by his father Glen C. Spencer.

A Celebration of Life and chance to share memories of Dan will be held on Friday June 10th from 5:30 to 8:30 PM at The Chateau at Larkin Sunset Gardens, 1950 E. 10600 S, Sandy Utah. Casual dress encouraged.

For those who wish to view the recording of the services may do so here: https://youtu.be/3GwKjMkv19M