Spencer Phelps Harris
June 26, 1936-May 17, 2011
Menlo Park, California

Spencer Phelps Harris, age 74, died unexpectedly May 17, 2011, in Palo Alto, Calif.

He was born in Evanston, Ill., to Ward and Eleanor Spencer Harris. His father practiced law in the Chicago area until age 90. His mother still played the piano at age 95.

After graduating from Evanston Township High School, Spencer attended Purdue University, and then Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, where he majored in accounting. After graduating he worked for Arthur Andersen in the Chicago area before becoming a stock broker with Hornblower & Weeks.

Before coming to California in 1970 to work for a nuclear medicine company in Palo Alto, Spencer received a master's degree in Finance from the University of Chicago.

In 1976 Spencer started The Data Financial Press Company in Menlo Park, compiling an accounting directory published twice a year called "Who Audits America," now in its 66th edition. It was once cited by the "Economist" magazine and others as the authority on accounting firms.

Spencer enjoyed diverse activities throughout his life. While in the Chicago area, he was an avid sailor, keeping his boat at the Lake Geneva Yacht Club in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. He played the piano, hiked with the Sierra Club, played a good game of chess, and enjoyed attending the San Francisco Symphony as well as attending lectures concerning politics and the economy.

His travels included trips to England and France, and cruising Alaska and the Panama Canal. He made annual visits to Cancun, Mexico; Florida; Texas and Coronado, Calif., to visit friends and relatives.

Spencer thoroughly enjoyed his daily visits to Peet's Coffee Shop in Menlo Park, where his friends have placed a plaque on his favorite bench which reads: "Spencer Phelps Harris, 1936-2011, Bohemian Intellectual, Conversationalist, Peetnik."

He is survived by his brother, Wesley Harris, and sister?in-law, Charlotte, of Coronado, Calif.; his nephews, Tim Harris (Lee Ann) of Ventura, Calif.; Scott Harris (Susie), Steve Falstrup (Kira) and niece, Karen Falstrup of Coronado, as well as grandnephews Pike, Trevor, Parker, Caiden, and grandniece, Sally.

Spencer's life will be celebrated in a private ceremony by his many relatives at their annual Christmas gathering in Coronado.

Tags: business