James Ellsworth Spencer

James Ellsworth “Jim” Spencer, 81, passed away on February 27, 2025, peacefully, at
home in Canon City, after a year-long battle with cancer. Jim was born on October 9,
1943, in Dallas, TX, to Wayne Ellsworth Spencer and Vivian Ruth Spencer. He was the
oldest of three children. His family lived for a time in Kansas and then went back to
south Texas. Jim graduated from Sharyland High School in Mission, TX, in 1961.
He joined the Air Force shortly thereafter. Because he demonstrated exceptional skill,
he was sent to Syracuse University in 1963 to study the Russian language, in
preparation for his assignment as a Voice Intercept Processing Specialist and
Linguist/Interrogator Specialist. He spent 12 years in the Air Force, stationed overseas
in Turkey, Japan, and Thailand, and finally in California and at Las Vegas/Nellis AFB.
After leaving the Air Force, Jim started several small businesses in Las Vegas but
eventually began working as a manager in a chain of retail clothing stores.

In Las Vegas, he met his wife Bonnie in the mid-80s, and they spent 40 wonderful
married years together. After living in Las Vegas for 55+ years, they moved to Canon
City, CO, and built a wonderful home high in a mountain subdivision, where they spent 8
great years surrounded by pine trees and mountain wildlife.

Jim loved to draw, do landscaping, work in the garden, go camping and motor-homing
and jeeping. And he was a fabulous cook. He loved to host Super Bowl parties and
family dinners and kept a massive collection of his recipes. But most of all, he was a
serious model railroader since his teenage years. He built several layouts, the first on the N
scale and the last on the HO scale. His detailed track layout designs are works of art, and
his final layout and the railroad is a true masterpiece of workmanship, design, and
dedication. Jim was a kind, generous, and quiet man. He will be greatly missed by all
who loved him.

Jim is survived by his wife Bonnie, sister-in-law Carolyn Bolding, and three
grandchildren, Tavish Riley, Brianna Titerle, and Hannah Gallucci, and three great-
grandchildren, all of Texas. At his request, there were no services. Donations can be
made to the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden, CO.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of James Ellsworth Spencer, please visit our floral store.