The Reverend Dr. James L. Spangenberg died peacefully at his home in Rockland, Maine, on Monday August 22, 2005. Dr. Spangenberg was Professor Emeritus of Keene State College, in Keene, New Hampshire. Born August 11, 1919, in Manatee, Oriente, Cuba of American parents, he is survived by his wife of 52 years, Lena R. Spangenberg, and three children: Scott J. Spangenberg of Amherst, New Hampshire; Holly R. Torsey and husband Stephen V. Torsey of Whitefield, Maine; Lisa Spangenberg and husband Michael E. Cohen of Santa Monica, California; his brothers Theodore Sanders Spangenberg and wife Marion of Chipley, Florida; Robert Boyd Spangenberg of Florida, and sister Mary Margaret Rodrigues of New York, and many nieces and nephews. Dr. Spangenberg was predeceased by his mother Lily May Pettyjohn Spangenberg, his father Carl Henry Spangenberg, and his brothers Carl Henry Spangenberg Jr. and William Frank Spangenberg. Dr. Spangenberg is also survived by extended family members Bernadine Lamar, Louise Dinuovo, Frances Doyle, and Miriam Watts.
Dr. Spangenberg earned a University of Florida B. A. in History in 1943, and a Bachelor of Divinity from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky in 1946. He earned his M.A. in Sociology in 1957 at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. After graduate work in theology at Columbia University, Dr. Spangenberg studied at the Merrill-Palmer Institute for Human Development, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, and at Hartford Seminary in Hartford, Connecticut. He earned a Ph.D. in Human Development from Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pennsylvania in 1966. During a Sabbatical in 1985 at Oxford University, England and Andover Newton Theological School, Dr. Spangenberg studied "Life Span Patterns of Religious Experience."
Dr. Jim, as many students think of him, served as the Director of the Program in Family Relations at Earlham College, Richmond, Indiana from 1962-67. As an Associate Professor at the University of New Hampshire from 1967-71, he taught courses in human and family development. From 1971-1985 he taught undergraduate and graduate courses in human and family development as Professor and Chair of the Department of Home Economics. While at Keene State, Dr. Spangenberg helped create the Masters in Occupational Education, and served as a member and Chair on several academic senate committee. He was active in the International Studies Program at Keene State College, escorting three groups of students to the University of Bath, and Derby-Lonsdale College. Many of his students from more than fifty years' teaching have maintained contact.
Ordained in 1957 by the American Baptist Convention, Reverend Spangenberg served as a campus minister at Eastern Michigan University, at Penn State University, at Clemson University, and at the University of Louisville. He also served as a supply minister throughout New Hampshire. He was active in Family Planning community services his entire professional life. He founded Habitat for Humanity in Georgetown, South Carolina, where, in his honor, they established the Spangenberg Habitat for Humanity Center.
In his spare time, Dr. Spangenberg was an amateur gemologist, gardener, and genealogist. He treasured his life with his wife Lena, and their marriage was one of devotion and steadfast love. They enjoyed traveling together, particularly their dream trip to Africa. Their shared love of shells and flowers led them to learn to make shell flowers together. His children remember many joyous times spent with their father looking for antiques, walking the beach, camping, boating, looking for wildflowers and birds, weaving, and telling stories. A beloved husband and father, and a cherished friend, mentor, foster family member, teacher and pastor to many, this good and gentle man will be sorely missed. At his request, donations in lieu of flowers may be sent to The Shields Fund, at the First Congregational Church, 55 Elm. St., Camden, Maine, 04843 or to Habitat for Humanity Georgetown County, 1907 Hampton Court, P.O. Box 2411, Georgetown, South Carolina 29442, Phone: (843) 546-5685, or Habitat For Humanity Mid-Coast Address: 57 Elm St, Camden, ME 04843 Phone: (207) 236-4974.
A memorial service was held at 11 AM, on Thursday, September 1, 2005, at the First Congregational Church in Camden Maine, on 55 Elm Street.