Glen created a legacy in every life he touched. He is missed by many.
Memorial Details
All community members are invited to the Glen Spencer Community Memorial & Tribute at the Phoenix Art Museum Outdoor Sculpture Garden on Tuesday, April 19th. Doors open at 3:00pm, with services beginning at 3:30pm. In lieu of flowers, please contribute to the Glen Spencer Ending the Epidemic Fund.
If you wish to share a memory, or funny story about Glen at the memorial, you will have the opportunity to fill out a speakers’ card upon arrival. After the planned portion of the service, speakers cards will be drawn at random until the conclusion of the service at 5:30pm. The family kindly asks that you please keep your tribute to 2 minutes or less.
Obituary
Glen Henry Spencer was born in Santa Fe, New Mexico on January 11, 1962, and died in Phoenix, Arizona on March 19, 2022. He is survived by his husband Marc Allan, his mother JoAnn, and brothers Scott and Carl (Lynn).
Glen graduated from the University of Arizona in 1984. He lived a life devoted to non-profit work, first with the American Arbitration Association helping people resolve disputes and, following his own HIV diagnosis in 2002, became a devoted HIV/AIDS advocate and community leader in Phoenix with HIV Care Directions, Medicare Benefits Assistance Program, and Aunt Rita’s Foundation. Glen loved to travel and socialize, and was uplifted by the love and support of family and friends in his final days from his dance with cancer.
Donate to the Glen Spencer Ending the Epidemic Fund
In March of 2022, a few weeks before his passing, The Glen Spencer Ending the Epidemic Fund was created in honor of Glen. The fund supports HIV prevention, outreach, and navigation in Arizona, with a special focus on high-risk populations. The fund can continue to positively impact our community with your generosity. Glen and his family encourage you to donate to the fund and leave a comment to pay tribute to his life and legacy.
Honoring the Life of Glen Spencer
Our community will always remember Glen Spencer as a bold, charismatic, and talented leader. Glen was a loving husband, son, brother, friend, and mentor to many, and he positively impacted hundreds of lives.
Glen was an integral part of the HIV community starting in 2003 when he began his work at HIV Care Directions at the Area Agency on Aging. In 2005, he began working as a staff member for HIV Care Directions and shortly thereafter was called upon by community members and friends to help re-form Aunt Rita’s Foundation. Glen served as the second Board Chair of Aunt Rita’s and continued to serve on the board until 2011, all while working as a Medical Case Manager at HIV Care Directions and then Director of Medicare Benefits Assistance Program. In 2015, he returned to Aunt Rita’s Foundation as Executive Director until March 2021.
Among his endless number of accomplishments, Glen was instrumental in starting the first at-home HIV test kit program in Arizona, overturning the “No Promo Homo” law that prevented comprehensive sexual health education in schools, creating one of the first HIV & Aging initiatives in the country, and doing the work to help legalize syringe access to Arizonans, which was signed into law in 2021. The list goes on.
One of Glen’s greatest points of pride was working with others to establish the Phoenix Fast-Track Cities 90-90-90-0 initiative in 2016 with the goal that 90% of people living with HIV know their status, 90% of those individuals receive care and adhere to treatment, and 90% of those on treatment achieve an undetectable viral load – which means the virus cannot be passed on to another person. And finally, zero stigma.
Beyond the high-profile work that he made seem effortless as he changed the face of Arizona, Glen did everything in his power to help any individual in need, connect community members to each other, and support those living with or at risk of HIV. A person’s rank or status didn’t factor into the way they were treated; Glen simply wanted to help. And, he did help so many people… many more than we can ever know.
In Loving Memory of Glen Spencer
When you make a donation, you can leave a comment for Glen’s family or share a heart-warming memory of Glen to pay tribute to him.
