Hayden Finley Spencer

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Hayden F. Spencer was born September 15, 1937, in Sidney, New York.

He was the only child of Harry and Ruth Spencer. After living in several upstate NY towns, the family finally settled in Cooperstown, New York, where Hayden would spend the remainder of his childhood years. He attended Cooperstown High School where he excelled in athletics, lettering in 4 sports: baseball, football, basketball, and track. Additionally, he played a good amount of golf and enjoyed caddying. It was also during these high school days that he developed a keen interest in theater, musicals in particular.

After high school, Hayden attended Lafayette College in Pennsylvania, and then served his country with the Army in Korea. He was with the Army Security Agency for 3 years (1956-1959), including an 18 month tour of Baengyneongdo Island, just off the coast of North Korea. He rose to Sergeant First Class, providing intelligence on North Korean ship, aircraft, and troop movements.

Following his military service, Hayden enrolled in airline training school in Hartford CT, and was subsequently hired by United Airlines in 1960. During his 35 years at United, he was stationed at Hartford CT, Toronto Ontario, Buffalo NY, Phoenix AZ, Corpus Christi TX, and Albany NY. He retired in 1995 as the station manager in Albany, overseeing ground operations for the airline. He was loved and respected by his employees, and still is to this day.

During his retirement years, Hayden remained busy working a myriad of different jobs, including at the US National Soccer Hall of Fame and writing articles for his local town newspaper.

After relocating back to the beautiful Sonoran desert in 2005, Hayden continued to stay busy. One of his favorite post-retirement jobs was driving for the White Stallion Ranch, where he thoroughly enjoyed interacting with visitors and his fellow employees.

In April 1961, Dad and our mother, Marlene, married in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. During 65 years of marriage, the couple welcomed three children, 8 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren.

We would like to offer thanks to so many people who helped us through Dad's final years. Firstly we thank our faith community here at Our Lady of the Desert for their guidance and support. We would also like to acknowledge the many healthcare professionals and Bayada Home Health Services whose skills and expertise proved so vital these past months. Additionally the Veterans Administration Home Based Primary Care team was always available and had Dad's best interests at heart. Thank you to our family and friends for your support. Even texts as simple as, "Hey, how's your Dad doing?" were immensely supportive and meaningful. And finally to our rock, Rose. You are always kind, caring and compassionate to us all-especially Dad-to the very end. Words cannot express our gratitude.

There is one final thing everyone should know about Hayden. He was immensely proud-more, fiercely proud-of his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and I think we all knew that. So it is only fitting to share one special moment in time when we were immensely proud of him. This event occurred in this very church, just 3 years ago, when Dad completed his conversion to Catholicism at age 85. This was the answer to many years of steadfast prayer. What a moment that was! We were never so proud of Dad as we were that unforgettable Easter.

Perhaps there is a lesson to be learned here: it is never too late to change, nor is it ever too late for new beginnings. With this bit of perspective, there is almost a certain joy to the passing of Hayden, knowing he is with our Lord and Savior, rejoicing in his presence. So while it is with great sadness that we mourn Dad's passing now, we take heart in the knowledge that he is ever alive to the One who is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Is this not what Easter season is all about?