Class of 2014 has carried Wyatt and his parents in their hearts
The Enterprise –– Michael Koff
Throwing a curveball: Bonnie Spencer, the mother of James “Wyatt” Spencer, throws out the ceremonial first pitch before Berne-Knox-Westerlo’s final home game on Monday evening in Berne. BKW won, 11 to 6; see the sports pages for more on the game.
The Enterprise –– Michael Koff
“Band of Brothers”: Before the Bulldogs played their final home game of the year, the Berne-Knox-Westerlo baseball team had James Spencer throw out the first pitch of their game. He is the father of their dear friend, Wyatt Spencer, who played ball with them till his 2009 death. After his pitch, the players clustered around Spencer and his wife, Bonnie, and hugged them. The Bulldogs wore Wyatt’s number, 8, on their jerseys.
To the Editor:
On the day that Wyatt Spencer died (May 28, 2009) his friends (commonly referred to as The Band of Brothers!) had a phone network going that rivaled many robo-call centers. They had the option to stay home from school the next day, but called everyone in the class to come in in their work boots and baseball hats (Wyatt's daily outfit) to honor their friend.
From that day to yesterday, that Class of 2014, and specifically the Band of Brothers, has continually carried Wyatt and his parents, Bonnie and Jim, in their hearts and have tried in many small and large ways to help Wyatt's family heal and thereby heal themselves.
We are very proud of them and I doubt that BKW will see the likes of the character of this 2014 class again. It meant a lot to all of us that you felt the story important enough to send a representative to the game (and they won, to boot!).
In the past four years we have built The J. Wyatt Spencer Memorial Scholarship to the point it is today. The class of 2014 will be the first recipients of a $5,000 award and we hope to keep it going for many graduating classes to come.
Kelley Hess
East Berne
Editor’s note: Kelley Hess’s son, Jack, was a close friend of Wyatt Spencer, and she is the vice chair of The J. Wyatt Spencer Memorial Scholarship Fund.