Steve Spacek, a loyal supporter of the Eastern Washington University athletic department who spent nearly three decades behind the score clock at Eagle basketball games, passed away after a hard-fought battle with prostate cancer on Sunday, March 26 at his home in Cheney, Wash. He was 77.

His memorial service is 2 p.m. on Wednesday (March 29) at the Cheney Funeral Chapel located at 1632 W. First Street in Cheney, Wash. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made to the Nadine Spacek and Steve Spacek Scholarship fund that benefits students in need to assist them in becoming elementary school teachers (see family obituary below for more information).

Among his many contributions, Spacek was the timer at EWU basketball games for roughly 600 games, dating back to the 1979-80 season. His wife Jan Spacek operated the scoreboard by his side since 1989, giving them a combined 44 years worth of faithful and loyal service through the thick and thin of Eagle Basketball.

Their service to EWU reaches far beyond the scoreboard. Both served two decades as timers at Eastern track and field meets. Plus, Steve was a charter member of the Eagle Athletic Association when it was formed in the 1983-84 school year, and was on the selection committee for the Eastern Athletics Hall of Fame ever since it started in 1996.

He and Jan were also honored as EAA Boosters of the Year. Although they never made a dime for their hours of service, they proudly supported Eagle Athletics through their own generous monetary contributions and attendance at most events.

Steve spent more than 40 years as a professor in the Eastern education department after coming to Cheney in 1958 -- including nearly 10 years as director of student-teachers. He started running the game clock in the 1979-80 season.

Steve and Jan were honored on Feb. 4, 2006, when Eastern hosted Northern Arizona. Making the occasion particularly special was a 73-61 Eagle victory that ended the NCAA Division I-leading 10-game winning streak of the Lumberjacks, who were 8-0 in the league at the time.

Until his health would not allow him to continue this past winter, Steve had been the timer for all 140 Big Sky Conference home games the men’s basketball team played dating back to the 1987-88 season when Eastern joined the league. The NAU game was his last game as timer at EWU.

Born on June 25, 1928, Steve was raised in Tekoa, Wash., and was 112 pounds and a quarter-inch under 5-foot-7 when he played football and basketball in high school. He went on to graduate from Eastern in 1950, serve in the Korean War and receive his master’s degree from Northern Colorado (1963) and his doctorate from the University of Idaho (1976). His first teaching job was in Ephrata, and then he spent three years at Coulee City.

He, along with his late first wife Nadine, moved to Cheney in 1958 as a demonstration teacher at Eastern’s laboratory elementary school that was then housed in Martin Hall. The following year, Reid Elementary was built next door, and it remains a lab school as part of the Cheney School District.

He retired in 1997, but continued to help EWU supervise student-teachers up until March 2005.

Eastern Washington University has always been a family affair for both Steve and Jan. Steve and Nadine raised two sons, Kim and Randy, who both attended Eastern. Kim was a basketball manager for Eastern and graduated in 1981. Randy eventually received his degree from Idaho after competing two years as a long jumper at Eastern.

Jan has two sons, Steve Harris and Mark Harris, who both graduated from Eastern. Her daughter, Dawn Hendrickson, graduated from the University of Washington but spent time in the early ‘90’s helping baby-sit children in the Reese Court wrestling room while parents watched games and Steve and Jan operated the clock.

Family Obituary . . .

Stephen Spencer Spacek

Steve, Emeritus Professor of Education at Eastern Washington University, passed away on March 26, 2006, after a hard-fought battle with prostate cancer. Steve was born to Orge and Ruth Spacek on June 25, 1928, in Colfax, Wash. He matriculated through the Tekoa Public School system, graduating in 1946 from Tekoa High School. In the fall, he entered Eastern College of Education and pursued a bachelor’s of arts degree in teacher education. He graduated in 1950. While at Eastern he joined the Naval Reserve and was called to duty to serve on the USS Leo. His most notable experiences were serving at small Air Force bases in Alaska and participating in the first hydrogen bomb test. Upon Steve’s return, he married Nadine Kamlin, daughter of Lester and Dorothy Kamlin. Both Steve and Nadine enrolled for advanced degrees at Colorado State College. While teaching in Ephrata and Coulee City, they graduated, both with master’s degrees in elementary education in 1963. In 1958, Steve was hired as a demonstration teacher at the Campus School in Cheney, Wash. The school became Reid School the following year. Nadine was later hired to teach in the Cheney Public Schools. In 1958 and 1960 sons were born to Steve and Nadine -- Kim Spacek and Randy Spacek. Steve continued to teach at Reid School for 17 years. During this same time he was also teaching veterans basic skills and pursuing his doctorate in elementary education at the University of Idaho. He received his E.D.D. in elementary education from Idaho in 1976. Nadine Spacek preceded Steve in death in 1986. Steve married Janet Harris in 1989, bringing together five different families with a total of nine grandchildren. Although Steve taught a variety of classes during his many years at EWU, his real passion was working with and teaching student teachers. During the course of his years at Eastern he nurtured several hundred student teachers from frustrated beginnings to successful conclusions. Steve had many interests and the persistence to follow-up what he started. He especially enjoyed playing golf, our garden, our flowers and following EWU sports. He was dedicated to supporting Eastern sports programs and their many student-athletes. Steve and Jan, in many years of involvement, seldom missed a home sporting event. Both operated the scoreboard and clock for both men’s and women’s basketball games that accumulated to over four decades. Steve was an original member of the Eagle Athletic Association, and he and Jan were honored as Boosters of the Year. Steve also was a member of Phi Delta Kappa and the American Legion. Steve leaves behind his supporting, caring and loving wife Janet; son Kim Spacek, his wife Claudia and grandson Jeffrey; son Randy Spacek, his wife April, granddaughter Sydney and grandson Cody; step-son Mark Harris and his wife Cathy; step-son Steve Harris, his wife Ruth, step-granddaughters Lauren, Jessica and Elaine and step-grandson Joseph; and step-daughter Dawn Hendrickson, her husband Jeff, step-granddaughter Ahnika and step-grandson Evan. Thank you Dr. Wigert and Dr. Gersh. In lieu of flowers the family requests that memorials be made to the Nadine Spacek and Steve Spacek Scholarship Fund that benefits students in need to assist them in becoming elementary school teachers. Send to: Eastern Washington University Foundation Office; 110 Hargraves Hall; Cheney, WA 99004. Steve Spacek’s funeral service is 2 p.m. on Wednesday, March 29, 2006, at the Cheney Funeral Chapel. Burial follows at Spokane Memorial Gardens.