Remembering a College Classmate, Friend, and Fellow Business Lawyer

Last week, a wonderful man in my life died.  Jonathan Spencer, a classmate from and fellow class leader for Brown University, died unexpectedly a week ago.  He collapsed while exercising and was unable to be revived.  At the time of his death, he was the General Counsel of the Museum of Science Fiction in Washington, DC, a museum that he helped to found.  The above photo was taken last year at our 35th reunion celebrations.  Although we did not see each other a lot in between reunions, we shared a passion for Brown and our class.

We also shared a professional connection, as the title of this post indicates.  Jonathan was a fellow business lawyer.  He focused on communications technology for much of his career.  His formal professional bio as currently posted at the Museum of Science Fiction is as follows:

Jonathan Spencer, General Counsel. Jonathan is a technology and transactional attorney with over 25 years of experience having held senior and executive level positions with several Internet and telecommunications companies. Jonathan has also representedtechnology and media companies, financial institutions and nonprofit organizations. Jonathan is a former chair of the Association of Corporate Counsel’s IT, Privacy and E-Commerce Committee and has spoken at programs for the American Bar Association, the Association of Corporate Counsel, the American Society of Association Executives and the International Technology Law Association. Jonathan is a graduate of Brown University and Duke University School of Law.

I can assure you, as impressive as his professional accomplishments are, Jonathan was far more than an impressive business lawyer.  He had a seemingly boundless intellectual capacity.  At his memorial services in Falls Church, Virginia yesterday, it was noted by family that "Before Google and Wikipedia, there was Jonathan."  That rang so true to me.  But more importantly, perhaps, Jonathan had an incredible joy for life.  He was "all in" when he chose to do things--from simple conversations with friends and classmates about mutual interests through event planning and fundraising work for Brown to world travel (and much more in between).  He lived life--making sure that he enjoyed the present moment as he strived to achieve all that he accomplished.  His altogether too-short life reminds me to do the same.

The photo below was taken of the two of us at Brown Homecoming back in 2007.  We were on campus for a leadership weekend and attended the football game while we were there.  A fellow classmate found this picture for me a few days ago.  I will treasure it and all of the memories of our times together.  Jonathan, may you rest in eternal peace, and may your family be comforted in their time of grief.  You will be missed by us all.