March 20, 1935 – March 24, 2024
Spencer Snow Beckstrom, 89, beloved husband, father and grandfather, passed away peacefully on Sunday, March 24, 2024.
He was born on March 20, 1935, in Cedar City, Utah, to loving parents Vere and Elizabeth Snow Beckstrom. Spencer was raised, along with his younger sister Guin, in the picturesque small valley of Pine Valley, Utah. His great love for his childhood home of Pine Valley was something he carried with him throughout his life.
Spencer graduated from Enterprise High School and Dixie College. He served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1956-1958 in Brazil. He served in the National Guard in 1959. After his mission and military service, Spencer married the beautiful Dorothy Diane Truman, whom he met in middle school in Enterprise. They married on Sept. 21, 1959, in the St. George Temple.
Spencer and Diane soon moved to Salt Lake City, where Spencer attended Law School and graduated from the University of Utah with a Law Degree in 1963. His first job after graduation was with a law firm in Pasadena, California, named Munns, Kofford, et al, and he would remain at that same firm for all 35-plus years of his career. Spencer quietly used his legal expertise to assist and serve many neighbors and ward members who sought his help in their legal matters throughout the years.
While Spencer enjoyed success in his workplace, there was no work that meant more to him than that in his home and with his family. He and Diane were the parents of six children: Jeffrey (Janny) Beckstrom of Pine Valley, Utah; Bradley (Julia) Beckstrom of Eagle, Idaho; Leslie Ann, who passed away as an infant; Linda (David) Eastwood of Salem, Utah; Lori (Brent) Murdock of Highland, Utah; and Lisa (James) Bullington of Highland, Utah. Spencer and Diane had 15 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. We are heartbroken at the loss of our father but find comfort in the thought of him and our mom together again, finally reunited with their beloved Leslie Ann, whose death as an infant was so devastating to the both of them.
Spencer and Diane raised their family in Glendora, California. Spencer was an involved and attentive father; one who always found time to read aloud to his children as a fire crackled in the fireplace, was at every sporting event of his children’s, no matter how small and was always willing to listen and pay attention to what was important to them.
He personally prepared a homemade, hot breakfast for his kids every morning before school and early morning seminary. As his children grew into teenagers and later into adulthood, there was no problem too great or obstacle too large that Spencer’s sound advice, unfailing support and utmost confidence in his children couldn’t solve. Spencer loved to serve his family. His grandchildren will forever remember Grandpa’s pancake breakfasts, his homemade rolls and his homemade raspberry jam. His constant love and devotion to Diane and his family serves as a forever example of his posterity as a loving father and grandfather who truly cherished his wife and family and treated them that way every single day.
Long after his mission to Brazil, Spencer later served two temple missions for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with Diane: one at the Los Angeles Temple and one at the Nauvoo Temple. They also served many years as temple workers in the St. George Temple. Spencer faithfully served the Lord in whatever capacity he was asked.
In 2005, Spencer and Diane moved from California and retired to the home where Spencer grew up in his beloved Pine Valley. A day spent working in the yard, pruning his raspberry patch and maintaining his surrounding pasture, followed by an evening spent sitting on the back porch with Diane, was a perfect day in his mind and exactly how he dreamed of spending his last years.
Funeral services will be held Tuesday, April 16, at 11 a.m. at the Pine Valley Chapel, 50 West Main Street, Pine Valley, Utah. Interment will follow in the Pine Valley Cemetery.
Arrangements are under the care of Metcalf Mortuary, 435-673-4221. Visit the Metcalf Mortuary website for condolences, complete obituary and funeral listings.