Daniel Theodore Spence

SENECA LAKE - Daniel Theodore Spence, 52, of Log Cabin Road on Seneca Lake's west side, died on April 8, 2013 following a war with cancer and kidney failure that he fought and finished on his terms.
Family and friends may call from 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday (April 13) at Townsend-Wood Funeral Home, 201 East Elm St., Penn Yan. A memorial service will be held at 3 p.m. Sunday (April 14) at Dresden United Methodist Church.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Dan's name can be made to Friends of the Outlet Trail at www.keuka outlettrail.com or Friends of the Outlet, Inc., PO Box 65, Dresden, N.Y. 14441, or to Cobblestone Springs, 4306 Lakemont-Himrod Road, Dundee, N.Y. 14837-9114.
Dan's family also strongly encourages everyone to think of him as they document an intent to be an organ donor.
On the sweltering summer day of July 20, 1960 Ted and Juanita Spence brought their youngest child into the world - a healthy little boy who quickly also became the joy in the lives of his siblings, Lynn, Lyle, Susan, and Gwen. Dan (AKA Thede, Spike or Ted) grew up with an appreciation of nature as he fished, swam and skied Seneca Lake. That reverence led him to seek a career that embraced all of the outdoors. After graduating from Penn Yan Academy in 1978, he earned his Associate's degree in Forestry from Paul Smith's College and became a Licensed New York Land Surveyor. After working for other surveying and lumber companies in the Adirondacks, Connec ticut and Capital Region, Dan returned to the Finger Lakes area to work at a new engineering and surveying firm, Fisher Associates, in 1992. He rose within the company to the position of Vice President/Survey Operations Manager. Dan was Project/Surveyor overseeing some of the biggest projects in the Rochester area, including the O'Rourke bridge in Charlotte, the Frederick Douglas/Susan B. Anthony bridge (Freddy-Sue bridge) in Rochester, which is the largest three arch bridge in the U.S., and lately positioning the outfall shafts for the Monroe County Water Authority water intake tunnel, from on a barge more than a mile off shore of Lake Ontario. He also coordinated survey operations for hundreds of survey projects. Dan was always at the forefront of the industry standards, implementing the latest equipment. In so doing, he catapulted the firm into the Machine Controlled Guidance era and facilitated in-house model building. His greatest pleasures came from teaching youngsters how to ski behind his Mastercraft, enjoying a Manhattan on the cottage deck while watching purple martins, raptors and waterfowl, sipping a beer next to a beach fire with a massive circle of friends, and watching a great football game - especially if the Kansas City Chiefs won. He was devoted to helping maintain the Keuka Outlet Trail through his work and leadership with the Friends of the Outlet, and to sharing his multiple skills in the restoration of his father's birthplace at Cobblestone Springs in Starkey. His work-hard, play-hard, and relax with deep satisfaction approach to life led him to become a 46er, climbing every one of the 46 high peaks of the Adirondacks. He topped the first 23 peaks bolstered by a kidney donated by his mother in 1978 and reached the second 23 mountain tops with the support of another kidney donated by his brother, Lyle, in 1995. He hunted the Big Horn Mountains in Wyoming and explored as much of this earth as he could, but the place he always wanted to spend his time was on the shore of Seneca Lake.
He is survived by his mother, Juanita Spence; brothers the Rev. Lynn (Lorrie) Spence of Clifton Springs and Lyle (Shelley) Spence of Worland, Wyo.; sisters Susan (Christian Claessens) Spence of Canandaigua and Gwen (Mark) Chamberlain of Dundee; nephews Casey (Missy) Spence and Patrick (Jessica) Spence of Clifton Springs, Kevin (Lenny) Cole of Lake Alfred, Fla., and Brad (Lauren) Cole of Dundee; nieces Lisa (Doug Smith) Spence of Oaks Corners, Amanda Spence of Clifton Springs, Christine (Jeremy) Busch of Loveland, Colo. and Laura (Paul Newhouse) Spence of Ft. Collins, Colo.; 11 grand nieces and nephews, several close cousins and a large circle of very special friends. He will be most deeply missed by his best friend, Cindy.
He was predeceased by his father, Theodore Spence, in 1999.