Reverend Dr. Norman Wayne Spangler Obituary

John 15:17 “I give you a new commandment: Love one another.”

November 8, 1931-August 31, 2026

Reverend Dr. Norman Wayne Spangler (Wayne) died August 31, 2026. He was born November 8, 1931 to the late Dorothy Harmon Spangler Wolford Taylor and the late Carl Spangler. In addition to his parents, Dorothy and Carl, he is preceded in death by his beloved wife, Betty Jane Spangler; son, Mark Andrew Spangler; step-sister, Norma Wolford; cousin, Patsy Brown; aunt and uncle, Opal and Eddie Brown; He is survived by his son, Stephen (Ann Leslie) Spangler; cousin, Dr. Reverend Karen Brown Wagenhals, his grandchildren, Mason (Dr. Mary Louisa) (named after his grandfather) Spangler, his great-grandson, Edmond Laurence Spangler, Margaret Jane (named after her grandmother) Spangler; daughter-in-law, Deborah Randazzo Spangler and granddaughters, Amelia Jane (named after her grandmother) and Kamryn Elizabeth Spangler.

Wayne’s parents divorced around the time he was going into first grade. He spent a lot of time in his grade school years moving to different houses every year. He also spent time at his grandparent’s farm near Pickerington. His mother worked as a buyer at Lazarus Department store and as a secretary for various Methodist churches and organizations. He felt a sense of abandonment in these growing up years in the depression. He had born again experiences at church camp in fifth and seventh grades and he dedicated his life as a Christian at this time. His mother married Lyle Wolford when he was twelve years old. He was introduced to his new step-sister Norma and his new stepfather. This was an exciting time for him because he loved his new expanded family. In his high school years at Bexley High School and at Bexley United Methodist Church, he announced his intention to enter the ministry of the United Methodist church, Bexley United Methodist Church members and his family were very proud. He loved school and excelled in his classes and began playing the trumpet. He entered Bexley High School and joined the marching band. He also played in the big band and Jazz group called the Cobra Kings with his best friend from high school Larry Van Norman (trombone player). He loved the music and the performances.

Wayne met his future wife, Betty Jane Spangler while he was teaching youth group at Bexley United Methodist Church and they married December 17, 1955 at that same church. They were married for 71 years, until Betty passed away April 22, 2026. Wayne majored in History at The Ohio State University and marched in The Ohio State University marching band all four years, including a trip to Pasadena in the 1949 Rose Bowl. He also played in TBDBITL - the alumni Ohio State band concerts until 2022, 73 years of playing the trumpet for The Ohio State University and he loved every minute of it. He also worked in a photography lab where he processed photos from film during some of his summers while at Ohio State. He was a very dedicated photographer and took pictures and movies using all kinds of technologies. He took a lot of pride and joy documenting our family events with these different cameras and processes. Later in Lexington, Kentucky he had his own dark room in our house and produced pictures of our family from there. He has left us all kinds of great pictures. I digitized some of his 8 mm films which included Eisenhower’s speech for Nixon in downtown Cleveland, Ohio and our trip to the New York World’s Fair. He and my mother planned and took us on many great trips over the years. They loved teaching us history and the amazing wonders of this world. Our trips included cowboy and military sites out west- including Mount Rushmore, Dodge City, Fort Scott and Fort Larned, Fort Laramie, Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and Yellowstone. They were still feeding the bears in Yellowstone (even big Grizzly Bears) were standing by the road with their paws out begging for food - (a site I will never forget). This was the last year the bears were fed by tourists - 72 people were killed that year at Yellowstone. We had many other great trips, two more to New York in the 1960s, Niagara Falls, Israel, and more. We passed on this love of teaching and traveling to our kids and they have passed it on to his great grandchild, Edmond.

Wayne applied to Drew University in Madison, New Jersey and was accepted in 1953-1954. After finishing Seminary, Wayne started his forty-year career as a United Methodist minister and he brought thousands of people to Christ in those years. He had a great sense of humor and he joked about the street called “Strait” that they lived on in his first church in inner city Cincinnati, Ohio—because it went straight down hill or strait down to hell in his joke. Their first son, Stephen John Spangler was born January 22, 1958. They then moved to Brecksville, Ohio in Cleveland and had their second son Mark Andrew Spangler on June 25, 1960. Wayne went on to serve a church in Chester, Kentucky and had a short stint with Macmillan publishing company in Lexington, Kentucky. He returned to the ministry in the Northwest Ohio Methodist Conference at the Casstown Methodist church in Casstown, Ohio from 1963 to 1966. Three men and their families decided to enter the United Methodist ministry in those years from that congregation. Wayne and Betty then moved to serve Arlington United Methodist from 1966 to 1969 near Findlay, Ohio. The family then moved to Waynesfield, Ohio where he started a new building campaign and built the new church, which is the church still used there today. In these years, Wayne spent large portions of the summers going to San Francisco Theological Seminary, where he completed his Doctorate of Ministry degree with a Thesis on Grief. After 1978, they moved to other churches, including Germantown, Ostrander, and Paulding and others before retiring in 1996 from the Paulding United Methodist Church. In these small to midsize churches, my father did all the funerals, all the weddings, and calls to people in the churches who could not get out of their homes (they use to call them “shut ins”). He made calls to mental health institutions, prisons, and hospitals. His commitment to his duty and his calling were consistent and complete to the very end: no matter where it was, who was asking, or how much it paid. He then served 10 years as a visiting pastor at Worthington United Methodist Church. He then retired fully and they moved to Reynoldsburg, Ohio. Wayne and Betty moved to Wesley Ridge Retirement Center in 2021 where they joined old friends from Reynoldsburg, Bexley High School, and Bexley United Methodist Church. This included Wayne’s best friend from high school, Larry Van Norman, who also played for the Combo Kings.

I saw my father several weeks ago and he thanked God and Betty, his spouse of 71 years, for the many blessings of a long and blessed life. When she died on April 22, of this year he immediately said “he would be with her in heaven soon.” On August 30, I was attending Ann’s uncle’s celebration of life in Charlottesville, Virginia. I received a call from Wesley Ridge that said my father had taken a turn for the worse with a severe illness. I flew back to Kansas City, packed quickly, and started the drive to Reynoldsburg right away. I got there at around noon on Monday August 31. The nurses said he was calling out to my mother as if he could see her. My son Mason and my daughter Maggie called and told him they loved him by phone. I passed on the love from others including his granddaughters, Amelia and Kami and others. Around 3 PM the hospice minister and I were praying over him and his breathing slowed. The breathing then stopped around 3:15 and I watched a very dedicated servant, my father, pass into the next world.

The Celebration of Life will take place at Huntington Memorial Chapel in Greenlawn Cemetery some time early next year when the renovation of the chapel is complete. The service will be conducted by his Methodist minister first cousin, Dr. Reverend Karen Brown Wagenhals.

Pfeifer Woodyard Funeral Home is honored to serve the family.