It was the wedding of her dreams. It took her a year to plan, but Sue Spencer did it.
Even as cancer ravaged her body, and two of her sons helped her down the aisle, she enjoyed every bit of her wedding day, March 30, and just before her 30th wedding anniversary on April 4.
When Larry and Sue Spencer wed in 1982, there was no big ceremony, no invitations, no attendants, groomsmen or flower girls. They had the bare necessities: the bride, groom, a minister and a couple of witnesses.
“We decided one Saturday morning all of a sudden we were just going to get married,” Mr. Spencer said. “The pastor was at the church and we called a couple of family members and we got married.”
At the time, the no-frills ceremony was enough for the Spencers, who eventually raised four children together. But Mrs. Spencer wanted her big wedding, her husband said. So for their 30th anniversary, she decided they would renew their vows in a big way.
“Initially, when she started talking about it and planning it, I was worried about how expensive this was going to be,” Mr. Spencer said. “But after about a month, I was on board. I bought her a ring and everything, but she didn’t know that.”
And if Mr. Spencer didn’t know how serious his wife was, it all came clear the evening before the ceremony.
“After the rehearsal dinner, she told me we were not to see each other again until she walked down the aisle,” he said. “And she checked into the hotel and I went home. But when I saw her come down the aisle, it was like I saw her when we got married 30 years ago. I’m glad we did it that way, I felt like a newlywed.”
Mrs. Spencer, had been diagnosed with cancer more than a year earlier. She’d even had a mastectomy, but four months after the surgery, her doctors discovered the cancer had spread.
“I think she knew she didn’t have a lot of time,” said Melissa Edmondson, a friend of 20 years. “This wedding kept her going, gave her something to look forward to.”
A Delta employee for at least 10 years, Mrs. Spencer hailed from Gadsden, Ala. She attended Tuskegee University for a time, with hopes of becoming a fashion buyer. Over the years, she worked for a number of companies, including the U.S. Postal Service and Georgia Power. At the time of her death, she worked in the customer refunds department at Delta, her husband said.
Mrs. Spencer was also very active at her church, Ben Hill United Methodist, where she worked with the youth and other church organizations, said Phyllis Baskin, a friend who lives in Atlanta.
“She was very organized and detail-oriented,” Mr. Spencer said. “And it all showed in this wedding she planned.”
On March 30, more than 100 of the Spencers' friends gathered in Norcross at the Atrium to celebrate their union, and to wish them as much time together as possible. But on April 29, Martha Sue Spencer, of Douglasville, died at Emory University Hospital Midtown, from complications of cancer. She was 58. A funeral was held Monday at Ben Hill United Methodist Church. Her body was buried at Greenwood Cemetery. Murray Brothers, Cascade Chapel, was in charge of arrangements.
“I know the wedding brought her a lot of peace and joy,” Mr. Spencer said. “She didn’t want us to know how bad off she was, but we knew. And we also knew what this event meant for her.”
Mrs. Spencer is also survived by her sons, Marlon Spencer of Hawaii, Runako Spencer of Fairburn and Joshua Spencer of Union City; daughter, Mèsi Spencer of Douglasville; mother, Pauline Lee of Gadsden; sisters, Joan Hutchinson of Detroit, Paula Lee of Decatur and Dolores Lewis of Gadsden; and five grandchildren.
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