Jack C. Spanner, Sr.

Despite a difficult childhood (or perhaps because of it) Jack Spanner was a wonderful husband, wise father, a doting grandfather, and an internationally accomplished engineer. We will miss him. He was born on May 5, 1932, in Denver, Colorado, to Clyde and Anne Spanner. He left us 86 years later on May 25, 2018, in Richland, Washington. He and his younger sister were raised by a single mother on the poor side of Denver. Jack started working at a young age and half of his income went to his mother for household expenses. By the time he graduated from West High School in 1950, Jack was an accomplished orchestra, marching band, and jazz drummer. He continued to drum into the late 1960s and taught many students the rudiments of drumming. In 1956, he was in a band that backed up the Four Freshman in a performance at Pueblo, Colorado, at one of their national tour stops.

After graduating from high school, Jack enlisted in the Navy. After boot camp, he was assigned to San Diego and stationed on the USS Goss, a destroyer escort. Nadine Fischer joined him in San Diego, and the two were married on October 6, 1951. As a sonar man on the Goss, Jack developed an interest in electronics. After his discharge from the Navy in 1954, he enrolled at Pueblo Junior College, in Pueblo, Colorado. Jack completed junior college in 1957, and with three kids in tow, he and Nadine moved to Fort Collins, Colorado, where Jack earned a B.S. degree in electrical engineering from Colorado State University. In 1959, Jack accepted a job with General Electric at Hanford. The family, which now included four children and one on the way, moved to Richland, where Jack resided ever since.

Jack became involved in the field of nondestructive testing, first with General Electric, and then Battelle Northwest, Westinghouse Hanford, Spanner Engineering, Inc., and Brand Examination and Testing. He was Technical Director of Brand Examination and Testing, and he finished his career back at Battelle, retiring in 1996. In the intervening years, he became a Licensed Professional Engineer and obtained an M.S. in metallurgical engineering from Washington State University. His master’s thesis became a textbook entitled Acoustic Emissions: Techniques and Applications. He served two terms as National Director of the American Society for Nondestructive Testing (ASNT). He is an ASNT Fellow and holds Level III certification in the five major nondestructive testing methods. He was Secretary of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Section XI Subgroup on nondestructive examination from 1986 to 1994. (Jack Jr. currently chairs that committee.) Jack was also a member of the ASME Section V Subcommittee on nondestructive examination from 1971 to 1987. He chaired the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) E-7 Committee on nondestructive testing from 1992 to 1996, and he chaired the ASTM E07.04 Acoustic Emission Subcommittee from 1972 to 1981. Jack authored more than 40 publications on nondestructive testing. He was instrumental in the formation of the Acoustic Emission Working Group and was the editor of an ASTM book entitled Monitoring Structural Integrity by Acoustic Emission. He was Vice Chair of the committee responsible for developing the ASNT Level III Program.

Jack was very capable with all kinds of tools and projects, including auto repairs, small motor repairs, furniture making, carpentry, plumbing, electrical, and concrete. His sons are grateful that he passed some of those skills on to them. He loved waterskiing, and was an excellent teacher of the sport. At age 79, he could still slalom ski. He and Nadine spent many wonderful summers at their place on Lake Coeur d’Alene. It gave him the opportunity to dote on his grandchildren and great grandchildren. He was their beloved “Papa Jack”.  Jack served as a volunteer crew member of the Miss Madison unlimited hydroplane for many years.  He asked that we share the following poem:

Don't grieve for me, for now I'm free,
I'm following the path God laid for me.
I took his hand when I heard his call,
I turned my back and left it all.

I could not stay another day,
To laugh, to love, to work, to play.
Tasks left undone must stay that way,
I've found that peace at the close of the day.

If my parting has left a void,
Then fill it with remembered joy.
A friendship shared, a laugh, a kiss,
Ah yes, these things I too will miss.

Be not burdened with times of sorrow,
I wish you the sunshine of tomorrow.
My Life's been full, I savored much,
Good friends, good times, a loved one's touch,

Perhaps my time seemed all too brief,
Don't lengthen it now with undue grief.
Lift up your heart and share with me,
God wanted me now, He set me free.

Jack Spanner was a wonderful husband and proud father. He rarely missed an opportunity to share his love for Nadine and his praise of his children. He is survived by his wife of 66 years, Nadine Spanner; sister, Lanita Coordes (Eltopia); son, Jack Spanner, Jr. and his wife, Kathy (Charlotte, NC); son, Gary Spanner and his wife Cody (Pasco); son, Bruce Spanner and his wife, Mary (Richland); daughter, Luanne Anderson and her husband, Kerry (Richland); and son, Daniel Spanner and his wife, Karin (Pasco). He is also survived by 13 grandchildren and 14 great grandchildren. A graveside service will be held on Saturday, June 9, at 11:00 at the veterans’ section of Sunset Memorial Gardens in Richland.  A reception and luncheon will follow at Gary and Cody’s home, 4 Carnation Court, Pasco. 

Memorial donations can be made to the Spanner Family Engineering Scholarship at WSU Tri-Cities to assist others, particularly military veterans, pursuing undergraduate degrees in engineering (2710 Crimson Way, Richland, WA, 99354).