Memorial Service to be Held for Former Communication Faculty Joseph Ruben Spicer

 

Takoma Park, MD (May 1, 2018)  Washington Adventist University is sad to announce the passing of Joseph Ruben Spicer born June 9, 1929 in Chicago, Illinois.

Joe passed away on January 22, 2018 in Clemmons, NC of natural causes step-daughter, Dawn Ohl, by his side. He was the only son of the late Elder Joseph Spicer and Anna Spicer from the Adriatic coast of former Yugoslavia.  He grew up with his predeceased sister Ruth Spicer Pajic in New York City and then Ohio (Columbia Station and Akron) as they traveled with their father’s ministry.  They were musical siblings who actively sang in choirs and Joe played the saxophone and accordion.  He attended Washington Missionary College (Washington Adventist University) and then the seminary in Berrien Springs, Michigan.

During his marriage to Jan he had two daughters, Laura Rutherford and Beth Kohlhoss of Potomac, MD. He served as associate pastor under Kurt Kurz at churches in Columbus, Reynoldsburg, Grove City and Millersburg, Ohio. He then became pastor of the church in Wooster, Ohio.

In the late 60s, he accepted the call to teach speech and communications at Columbia Union College (WAU). He was an announcer of then-classical radio station WGTS 91.9 which he also managed for several years. He was head of the Communications Department at CUC and adjunct professor at Howard University until his retirement. He was an avid sailor who loved the water and spent his golden years traveling and enjoying life with his (predeceased) second wife, Joy in Bern, NC.  He is also survived by his first wife, daughters and several grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held at Sligo Church on Saturday May 19 at 2 pm. All are welcomed to attend.

Washington Adventist University is Montgomery County’s only four-year private college. Part of the Seventh-day Adventist system of higher education, Washington Adventist University has been educating college students since 1904 on a 19-acre campus in suburban Takoma Park, close to the nation’s capital. Approximately 1,100 students of all faiths participate in the university’s nine graduate and 42 undergraduate programs. The 2017 edition of U.S. News & World Report ranked Washington Adventist University among the best regional colleges in the north.

Media Contacts
Emeraude Victorin, 301-576-0193, news@wau.edu