Richard Wilson Spence Jr., 77, of Chesapeake City, MD passed away on Wednesday, December 4, 2024. Born in Elkton, MD on October 28, 1947, he was the son of the late Richard Sr. and Lillian Juergens Spence.

Richard Wilson Spence, Jr., (known to most as Rich, and lovingly by his wife and NM friends as "Spence"), moved back home September 2024, after leaving for Las Vegas, Nevada in the seventies.  In Vegas, he continued his builder business that he had started back in Wilmington, DE before finding his passion working in Gaming.  For the next 30 years Richard worked as a dealer, and a pit boss before finding his niche as the "Eye in the Sky."  By the time he left Vegas, he had built a successful career in Surveillance of live games via closed circuit TV and exited as the Director of Surveillance at the Luxor Hotel and Casino.

In 2001, he and his wife, Cynthia, relocated to Algodones, New Mexico where they owned and operated a historic Bed & Breakfast Inn for the next 20 years. Here, Richard found another niche for himself, marrying couples in an on-site 200-year-old adobe chapel, therein coming full circle – coming from Elkton, Maryland where as a young lad, he guided couples, while on his bicycle, to Main Street from Route 40 to find a Justice of the Peace to be married.

A man of many interests and a tendency to march to his own drum, Rich was an accomplished bowler on the tournament circuit, an avid pool player, had a glorious voice that he often serenaded his wife with and he ate up Jeopardy and cross word puzzles like candy. His love for animals had him caring for multiple horses, cats, Standard Poodles and strays. His Standard Poodle, Dillon, and house rabbit, Smoky are missing him as much as we do.

His wish to return to the Elkton area to live out the rest of his days came to pass when he and Cynthia purchased a historic home on the C&D Canal in North Chesapeake City.  Among his favorite memories were working with Mr. Cheeseman, the Cecil Whig photographer, as a student; standing a foot away from President Kennedy as he dedicated Route I-95; and watching the Chesapeake Bay Retrievers bring in floating wood from the canal at the old Schaefers. Rich enjoyed his new home on the C&D Canal reliving his high school sports days, watching sports with new friends, watching ships pass and building new relationships with family.

We will miss him so much; but we have memories both of him and of Cecil County's rich history through his eyes and stories.

Survivors include his loving wife of 27 years, Cynthia Rider Spence; children Richard Wilson Spence III, Wilmington, DE, and Alisha Richelle Foley and her husband Jim Foley, Montvale, NJ; grandchildren, Hannah Foley and James Foley; sisters, Deborah Spence Smith, Washington, DC, and Mary Elizabeth Spence, Elkton, MD; stepmother, Paula Case Spence, Elkton, MD.

All services will be private.