Merline Galloway Spencer

Hattie Merline Page Galloway Spencer passed peacefully of natural causes Saturday, July 4th, 2020, in Johnson, Florida – where she and her beloved husband Joseph Harvey Spencer shared their lives for more than 32 years. Merline was born March 12, 1928, in Clinton, North Carolina – the daughter of Roland and Hattie Mae Page. She was the second of four children – Christine Page Daniel, Peggy DeWitt and Roland “Hank” Page, Jr.

The family relocated to Jacksonville, Florida, in the early 1940s, and Merline married Paul Franklin Galloway. They were married for 30 years and had three children – Paul “Bo” Augustus Galloway, Nancy Gale Galloway Racine and Charles Del Galloway.

Merline was with the Duval County School system for more than 20 years – as the bookkeeper at Robert E. Lee Senior High School and Westside Skills Center - and later as a guidance counselor at Kirby Smith Junior High.

Merline was a wiz with numbers and accounting, and she was very well known as an extraordinary seamstress and baker of amazing cakes – particularly wedding cakes, which were enjoyed by families throughout North Florida.

Merline’s gentle spirit and kindness – and her practical approach to life and its challenges – drew people in, and of her it was often said, “Merline is one of the most thoughtful people I know.” To many, she was like a mother and grandmother.

Proceeding her in death are her husband Joseph Spencer, Paul Galloway, her sister Christine Page Daniel and her sister-in-law Mildred Galloway Denson.

Left to honor and cherish her memory are her children – Bo Galloway (Diane), Mike Spencer (Cheryl), Nancy Racine (Dale), Del Galloway (Chris), and her loving grandchildren – Lana Racine Haffner (Todd), Michael Harrell, Hope Harrell Curtis (Chuck), Jonathan Spencer and Amanda Spencer; and numerous great grandchildren and nieces and nephews, as well as her dear friends Brenda and Matt Faison and her caregivers – Tammy Cyrus and Charlotte Moore.

Merline will be interred at Jacksonville National Cemetery. Gifts to celebrate Merline may be made to Haven Hospice - 6400 St. Johns Avenue, #6817, Palatka, Florida 32177 www.beyourhaven.org

Due to the pandemic, a memorial service will be held at a future date. In lieu of convening face-to-face now to celebrate her life, the family asks those who wish to honor her to pause and quietly reflect on their relationship with Merline, and to consider the wonders of life and its many blessings.