Life story
Our mom, Pat Spencer, was born Arminta Ann Clarke in Fenton, MI. Only child of John Earl Clarke and Gertrude E. St. John, she grew up in Keego Harbor. She boasted about her wonderful childhood, and how her dad would bounce her on his knee and call her his "Patsy Girl,” hence the nickname she kept all her life, "Pat". She met our father while her dad was working for the Spencers on their dairy farm, and the old Spencer Airport on Pontiac Trail. She married our dad on April 11, 1953, and they have 5 children, Sandy, Marsha, Terie, Judy, and George. Mom kept us close to home, of course, to help our dad on the farm, and her in our massive vegetable garden. Dairy farming kept us all busy, but our folks made time to teach us to water ski, swim, camp, etc. We were and still are a close family. Mom worked as a bus driver in 1971-80 for Walled Lake Schools and as a police and fire dispatcher in Walled lake, Milford and Wolverine Lake. As a fire chief's wife, she spent a lot of time at events for the Wixom Fire Department. She was always there, whether it was cooking pancakes, passing out Christmas gifts to the kids, or spraying parade goers with her water bottle, dressed as our Fire Clown. She was also active with community theater groups and as a storyteller and historical interpreter, including roles as a tavern hostess and a schoolteacher at Greenfield Village and Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn. She retired in 1994, and once they kicked all of us out of the house, Mom and Dad went on many trips and cruises, including to China, The Panama Canal, and Alaska. She and Dad have 18 grandchildren, 28 great-grandchildren, and 4 great-great-grandchildren.
