JOHNSTOWN —
In one area, Nancy Spencer of Walnut Grove and her son Scott had a contentious relationship.
She proclaimed that the Pittsburgh Steelers were the best team in the NFL.
He argued that the title belonged to the Green Bay Packers.
When Scott Spencer died unexpectedly a little over a year ago, his mother honored his devotion to his team by having his tombstone designed with the Green Bay logo.
Since she plans to be laid to rest by her only son someday, the other side of the double stone was engraved with a Steelers logo.
“He moved to Colorado for almost 10 years and when he came back he was a full-fledged Green Bay fan,” Nancy said.
Scott Spencer played football in junior high school as well as at Greater Johnstown High School, where he was a center on the offensive line.
Despite being the odd man out in a family of avid Pittsburgh fans, “he never teetered” in his support for his team, his mother said.
“Everybody always kept teasing me,” Spencer said. “They’d say ‘How are you such a big Steelers fan and he is a Green Bay fan?’ ”
Spencer was devastated when the 39-year-old died unexpectedly at home where they lived together.
He will be very much on her mind when she watches a Super Bowl on Sunday.
“I know Sunday, he will be watching,” she said.
Spencer said her son had his first opportunity to see his beloved Packers less than three weeks before his death.
The team went head-to-head with the Steelers in Pittsburgh on Dec. 20, 2009 – and Spencer was able to get tickets for her son and his uncle.
“I don’t know what I paid for the tickets, but it was the best money I’ve ever spent,” she said.
“He got to see his Packers play.”
The heartbroken mother decided to allow her son’s personality to be reflected – even at the funeral home.
“When he was laid out, he had his tickets in his hand, his Green Bay shirt on, and had the old Green Bay hat that he always wore,” Spencer said.
Two little bouquets with green and gold carnations adorned the casket.
When it came time to pick the headstone for his grave, Spencer went to see Victoria Bense-Hiteshew, owner of Richland Memorials.
Bense-Hiteshew remembers selling the stone.
“It was the first call that I received when I started my business,” she said.
The business owner said it is becoming more common for family members to request customized stones.
“They want to tailor it more to being about the person rather than just the name and the dates,” she said.
Bense-Hiteshew said she was supportive of Spencer’s unusual choice.
“A stone is not just a mark of the person’s life,” she said. “It’s about healing.”
Spencer said she and her daughter knew right away that the team-themed gravestone was the right choice.
“My daughter said, ‘That stone says it all. It’s who you two are,’ ” Spencer said.
As a long-time Steelers fan, Spencer will be cheering her team on as she watches the game at home Sunday. But if things don’t go well for her favorite team, she will be fine with that as well.
“To me it’s a win-win situation,” she said.
“I know how much the Packers meant to him.
“If the Steelers lose, I know he will be happy somewhere that the Packers won.”
Local News
Related Photos
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Nancy Spencer kneels at the gravesite of her son, Scott. Scott was an enthusiastic Green Bay Packers fan, and the headstone bears a Packers logo. Nancy Spencer, a diehard Steelers fan, made a place for herself at the gravesite; her side bears a Steelers logo. John Rucosky
Discussion
Packers fan took devotion to his grave
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