"Mr. Stevens"

Patrick and I met Spencer at the Bay School in San Francisco, where we were lucky enough to have him teach our daughter, Cara. On paper, he taught her biology, but in fact, he taught her much more outside the classroom--on field trips, in the Outing Club, at crab dinners at our house. His quirky sense of humor must have rubbed off on Cara since she has one, too, or at least it's one of the reasons they got along so well.

One story that I know will make him smile: Patrick and I drove a carload of Bay School students to Lake Tahoe and back for an Outing Club snow extravaganza. While they hiked around, I skied and Patrick gorged on pro football playoffs (4 games in 2 days). We stayed in what turned out to be an absolute dump of a hotel with four drunks next door who fell asleep with the TV blaring through paper-thin walls. No sleep, record freezing temperatures, exploding Diet Coke can in a lousy refrigerator. Spencer enjoyed our predicament, for some reason....

Spencer was clearly influential in Cara's life: she just graduated from college with a chemistry degree and is now doing research -- in Boston, of all places (wearing Giants gear, of course)!

We're honored to have him as a friend. 

 

Happy 40th, Spencer! 

With much love, 

Jan and Patrick Vennari

A ringleader at one of many Bay School outing trips