R.A. McSpadden, 84, died in his sleep on November 20th, while in hospice care. Born December 11, 1940, in Marfa, TX his parents were S.J. McSpadden, Jr. and Vera Brown McSpadden. Mr. McSpadden’s grandfather was S.J. McSpadden, Sr., a pioneer West Texas rancher from a prominent North Texas family, and his grandmother was Sarah Jane (born Crowley), daughter of Frank Crowley, an early settler of Denton County.
McSpadden graduated high school from W.B. Ray High School in Corpus Christi, where his mother taught for a brief time in the 1950s. After graduation, he attended college at North Texas, then served two tours in the United States Navy on the radar picket ship USS Investigator in the North Atlantic based in Norfolk, VA and Rhode Island, and in Antarctica, based in Christchurch, New Zealand. After his discharge from the Navy, McSpadden worked for Kennecott in Arizona, where he met his future wife, Ada Jordan. They moved together to Washington, DC, where he worked in the emerging field of computer technology. They were married in Rockville, MD. IBM’s large-scale mainframe computer project at Ft. Hood took him back to Texas on assignment, and it was there that he and Mrs. McSpadden adopted the first of their two children. Employment at UCC Corporation took the family to Dallas, where they made their home for many years in Forest Hills, on White Rock Lake. Subsequently he was employed by EDS, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and as an analyst for Republic Bank in downtown Dallas, and finally as Senior Analyst for Atlantic Richfield, first in downtown Dallas and later in their Exploration and Production Research Center in Plano, culminating in the installation of the company’s first super-computer in 1989. He retired in 1991 but was retained by Raytheon as a special consultant in 1998, as an expert in his field, working on Y2K issues with the defense contractor. He and Mrs. McSpadden divided their time between their home in Dallas and their farm in East Texas, with occasional trips to the family ranch south of Marfa. Mrs. McSpadden died in 2018, at the age of 84.
Mr. McSpadden and his wife both lived music and were both voracious readers; she preferred historical fiction, books on birding and cooking, while he was interested in science fiction and classic westerns. They both loved the outdoors and delighted in beautiful scenery and wildlife. Mr. McSpadden was also quite the chess expert, and when younger excelled at playing the cornet, and on the tennis court.
Mr. McSpadden is pre-deceased by his wife Ada, grandson Adrian, and sister Kay. He is survived by his son Anthony of Austin, daughter Shavella Sue, and grandchildren Mark and Alina.
In lieu of flowers, gifts made to Diabetes and Parkinson’s related charities would be appreciated.
Arrangements are under the direction of West Oaks Funeral Home. www.westoaksfuneralhom.com
