Happy Heavenly Birthday Spencer
Today is a somber day in the Irvine household. It is our oldest son Spencer’s 38th birthday, but he isn’t here to celebrate it with us as he died from pancreatic cancer in September 2023. We have previously published an obituary of sorts but I feel compelled to add what I plan to be a short annual reminder on his birthday.
Spencer lived a full life and had so much more to live for, but that wasn’t in the cards. He left this earth with a strong testimony of his savior Jesus Christ and served as an example of righteous living, which is more than I can say for myself when I try and compare my life to his.
He left behind a loving wife and a brother and sister who he was very close to, as well as my wife and me. We have been grieving since the day he died and often wonder how something like this can happen. Since Spencer’s death, I have been diagnosed with cancer-which is being held at bay for now—and we have witnessed the birth of two new grandchildren, one of whom has been named Noah Spencer Irvine as a tribute to an uncle he will never know in this life.
While Spencer is gone, and tears will continue to be shed, he lives on in our hearts and minds and on social media as we can scroll back and see snippets of his life that was all too short.
My final tribute to Spencer is a scholarship, which is named the Spencer Reed Irvine Faith and Freedom Endowed Scholarship Fund at his alma mater, Brigham Young University. Spencer would probably object to doing this as he didn’t like to draw attention to himself, but my wife and I want future recipients to know what an outstanding son, husband, and individual he was. It doesn’t ease our pain, but it gives us some comfort to know that he will not be forgotten.
If you would like to contribute to Spencer’s scholarship fund, contact me at don.irvine@academia.org.
I look forward to being reunited with Spencer when my time on earth is done, but until then I will try to emulate him as much as possible.
This tribute will run every year on his birthday with updates.
Don Irvine
Donald Irvine is the chairman of of Accuracy in Academia (AIA), a non-profit research group reporting on bias in education. Irvine follows his father’s legacy, Reed Irvine, to critically analyze the liberal media’s bias and brings over thirty years of media analysis experience. He has published countless blog posts and articles on media bias, in context of current events, and he has been interviewed by many news media outlets during his professional career. He currently hosts a livestream weekly show on AIA’s Facebook page which discusses current events.
Irvine graduated from the University of Maryland and rose up the ranks to become chairman of Accuracy in Media until his transition to AIA.
He resides in the suburbs around the nation’s capital and is a proud father and grandfather.
