Spencer J. Reynolds ’61

Spence died peacefully Nov. 28, 2021, after a long struggle with vascular dementia. 

Born in Providence, R.I., and raised on a cattle ranch in Wyoming, he came to us from South Kent School in Connecticut. At Princeton he majored in religion, sang in the Glee Club, and was a Keyceptor, a Chapel deacon, and director of the student center. A member of Cap and Gown, he roomed with Blair Edwards, Art Hedgren, Markley Huey, John Morris, and Gene Fike.

Following Army service in South Korea and a year in an Episcopal seminary, Spence worked briefly in Manhattan for Chase Bank before applying for a job at Princeton in undergraduate admissions. There he spent more than 50 years consulting, consoling, and mentoring applicants and their families. 

Those descriptors do not come close to portraying what he meant to Princeton, the admissions office, the students he dealt with, and the Class of 1961. His son Spencer Jr. ’92 wrote, “He carried Wyoming in his heart and on his head and was recognized around town and gown by his distinctive gait and cowboy hat,” plus the glow under the brim from his pipe.

Spence is survived by his wife of 56 years, Joy; their three sons and their families; and seven grandchildren.