William Joseph Edmund SPENCE

1924 - 2021

WILLIAM "BILL" JOSEPH EDMUND SPENCE, M.D., F.R.C.S. (C) Bill Spence passed away peacefully at his home on February 22, 2021, surrounded by family members. Bill is survived by his wife of 65 years, Margaret (Peg) Spence of Toronto. He also leaves seven children: Paul Spence (Cathy) of Louisville, Kentucky; Frank Spence (Nanette Alvarez) of Calgary, Alberta; Sandra Spence of San Francisco, California; Bill Spence (Sheila) of Petersfield, England; Julie Spence (Jeff Engel) of Toronto; John Spence (Susan) of Toronto; and Jane Spence of Kitchener. He leaves fourteen grandchildren: William, JP, Lisi; Sean, Christopher, Emma; Clare (Sabry); James, Liam (Engel); Quinn, Hamish, Ewan; Charlotte, Lila (Reid); and one great-grandchild, Penelope. He was predeceased by his parents, William Spence and Rose (Jordan) Spence, and by his brother, Most Rev. Francis Spence, Seventh Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kingston. Born in Smiths Falls, Ontario, on November 2, 1924, Bill grew up on a Drummond Township farm with his family near Perth Ontario. As a youth, he enjoyed hockey and excelled at softball, pitching for the county league Tayside team. After graduating from Perth Collegiate high school, he responded to a provincial shortage of teachers by teaching for a year at the Union Hall one-room primary school and by doing so earned enough to attend university the following year. Bill attended Queen's University and graduated from its School of Medicine in 1949 as the gold medalist in Surgery. He was the first Queen's student accepted to University of Toronto's surgical training program. Following further training in Bristol, England, Bill joined the staff of the Department of Surgery at the Toronto General Hospital in 1957. He enjoyed a long career there and stepped away from performing surgeries in 1994 at the age of 70. Bill continued to see patients in his office practice until age 88, and attended bi-weekly surgical meetings and rounds, in person and more recently via videoconferencing, at the University Health Network until he was 96 years old. Bill gave every patient his very best. He carefully explained procedures to them, made post-operative visits seven days a week and took phone calls at all hours of the day. Deep appreciation for his skills and care was expressed by his patients. Known as "the surgeons' surgeon", his patients included other physicians, their family members, and friends. He was also recognized as a thoughtful and common-sense teacher, receiving many awards for his training of undergraduate and post-graduate trainees. Bill's dedication to his calling as a healer was exceeded only by his dedication and generosity as a father and grandfather. Home for dinner at the family table most evenings, he kept on top of his children's events and academic challenges. He reveled in backyard sports, playing ball hockey, basketball and baseball. He was ready to drive children to games in cold arenas and warmer ballparks at any hour, pausing only occasionally to indulge in his love of ice cream, professional baseball and big band music. As his children spread across the world, he travelled to them, and with them. He remained, to the very last day, up to date and connected with what every child and grandchild was doing, whether in person, by phone, or by FaceTime and Zoom. He will be remembered lovingly by them all. We extend our heartfelt thanks to the Temmy Latner Center, Unity Health Toronto, and the Toronto Central Local Health Integration Network whose excellent care enabled Bill to spend his final days at home with his family.