Our Valued Staff

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  Dwayne R. Spence, CFSP, Founder

  A licensed funeral director and embalmer since 1968, Dwayne founded the Dwayne R. Spence Funeral Home in Canal Winchester in 1969 and opened a branch operation in Pickerington in 1984. He is a member of the Academy of Professional Funeral Service Practice since 1994.
  
  He is a founding partner in S&S Management Company, Fairfield Real Estate Ltd. Co., and 126 Postage Drive LLC. He is a licensed insurance agent and founded the Dwayne R. Spence Insurance Agency, Inc. in 1988.
  
  He has been married to his high school sweetheart for 46 years, has three married children and ten grandchildren and lives in Fairfield County.
  
  Dwayne served as President of the Central Ohio Funeral Directors Association, Treasurer, and Vice President, President Elect and in 1996 was elected President of the Ohio Funeral Directors Association. During that time he also served as chairman of the Legislative, Finance, Convention, Task Force and Scholarship Committees.
  
  Dwayne was Ohio's Funeral Service representative to the Policy Board of the 14000 member National Funeral Directors Association and then was elected as an At Large Representative to the National Funeral Directors Association executive Committee. He was elected Secretary of NFDA in 1999 in Kansas City, Missouri, was elected NFDA Treasurer in Baltimore, Maryland in 2000, 2001 Pres Elect in Orlando Florida, and was elected NFDA President in October 2002 in San Antonio, Texas.
  
  He has been Chairman of the Credentials Committee, the Government Relations Committee, the Regulatory Issues Committee, and now serves as Chairman of the Professional Conduct Committee of the National Funeral Directors Association.
  
  He is a Certified Funeral Service Practitioner, a member of the Ohio Crematory Operators Association, Ohio Embalmers Association, Cremation Association of North America and International Cemetery and Funeral Association.
  
  Dwayne R. Spence, CFSP, has earned the designation of Certified Funeral Service Practitioner from the Academy of Professional Funeral Service Practice, Inc. This is noted by the CFSP acronym, and this licensed funeral director must meet or exceed defined criteria annually to continue use of this designation.

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  James H. Sheridan, CFSP, Managing Partner

  James H. Sheridan, CFSP, is a 3rd generation funeral director and is general manager for the Dwayne R. Spence Funeral Homes. Jim is married to Ann (Roush) Sheridan and are the proud parents of three children, son, Trent, Daughter in law, Stefanie Sheridan, Pickerington, daughter, Carrie Sheridan Dauer and her husband Mark Dauer, Royal Oak Michigan, daughter Clair Sheridan, student at Ohio State University from Pickerington High School, and has four grandchildren: Grant & Sofia Sheridan and Jack & Clair Dauer. Jim attended Ohio University and graduated from the Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science.
  
  Member of the National Funeral Directors Association, Ohio Funeral Directors Association , Academy of Professional Funeral Service Practice, licensed insurance agent, and actively participates with the state and district funeral service committees. Having served on the OFDA board of directors, legislative committee, building committee, disaster response policy board and response team, and president of the southeastern Ohio District #13.
  
  He also belongs to the Pickerington Chamber of Commerce, Pickerington Moose, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church, and the Knights of Columbus Council #1187, and is a past president of the Pickerington Lions Club.
  
  Jim enjoys spending as much time as he can with his family, golfing, and yard work. Jim has been a partner with Dwayne Spence Funeral Home since 1983.
  
  James H. Sheridan, CFSP, has earned the designation of Certified Funeral Service Practitioner from the Academy of Professional Funeral Service Practice, Inc. This is noted by the CFSP acronym, and this licensed funeral director must meet or exceed defined criteria annually to continue use of this designation.

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  Jeffrey W. Seaman, CFSP, Assistant Manager

  Jeffrey W. Seaman, CFSP, joined the Spence Funeral Home staff in 1987 and is assistant manager of the Dwayne R. Spence Funeral Homes. He has been a licensed funeral director and embalmer since 1988. Born in Athens, Ohio, he is a 1977 graduate of Athens High School, received his BBA from Ohio University in 1981, and graduated from the Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science in 1987.
  
  Jeff is a member of the National Funeral Directors Association, Ohio Funeral Directors Association, Academy of Professional Funeral Service Practice, and is a member and past-president of the Pickerington Lions Club. He and his wife, JoAnn, live in Pickerington.
  
  Jeffrey W. Seaman, CFSP, has earned the designation of Certified Funeral Service Practitioner from the Academy of Professional Funeral Service Practice, Inc. This is noted by the CFSP acronym, and this licensed funeral director must meet or exceed defined criteria annually to continue use of this designation.

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  Jeffrey K. Zarbaugh, Funeral Director

  Jeffrey K. Zarbaugh, licensed funeral director and embalmer in Ohio since 1998, joined the Spence Funeral Home staff in 1998. Born in Columbus, Ohio and raised in Bexley, he is a 1982 graduate of Bexley High School. He received his Bachelor of Mortuary Science degree from the Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science in 1996, where at graduation he received the Homer D. Leffler Award for Funeral Directing/Counseling. Member of the National Funeral Directors Association, Ohio Funeral Directors Association, Academy of Professional Funeral Service Practice, and TurnPoint Apostolic Church in Groveport. He and his wife, Jennifer, and two daughters, Kaitlyn and Kendra, reside in Canal Winchester. Jeff enjoys hunting, fishing, camping and bird-watching.

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  Keith Ebright, Funeral Director

  Keith Ebright joined the Spence Funeral Home Staff, part-time, in October 2001, going full-time in August of 2006, after retiring as Director of Guidance and Assistant Varsity Girls Basketball Coach for the Pickerington Local Schools. He graduated from Pickerington High School in 1966, received his B.S. in Elementary Education (1976) and M.A. in Guidance Counseling (1981) from Ohio University. Keith and his wife Dorothy, members of Epiphany Lutheran Church, have been married over 40 years, have two children, Matthew and Melissa and 4 grandchildren. Keith is a veteran of the U.S. Army, U. S. Air Force Reserves and currently is a member of American Legion Post #283. Keith received the Pickerington Schools Teacher of the Year Award in 2006 and was recently inducted into the Pickerington Local Schools Alumni Hall of Fame and the Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame. His hobbies include traveling, all sports and singing with the Columbus Swiss Singers and the Singing Buckeyes Barbershop Chorus.

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  Kenneth L. Chambers, Funeral Director & Advanced Planning Specialist

  Kenneth L. Chambers, is a licensed funeral director and embalmer with over 24 years experience. Ken joined the Spence Funeral Home staff in September of 2008 and works primarily with families pre-planning funerals. Ken, his wife Pam, and their two sons, Tyler and Arek, reside in Blacklick. Ken is a Columbus native, graduated from Eastmoor High School, attended The Ohio State University and graduated from the University of Minnesota with a Bachelor of Science degree with a major in Mortuary Science. Ken is a member of the National Funeral Directors Association, Ohio Funeral Directors Association and is a licensed insurance agent. Ken has been of member of Rotary International since 2005 and is a charter member and Club Secretary of Rotary Club of Canal Winchester. Ken is an active member of Temple Israel and enjoys free time with his family. Ken also enjoys “golf”, skiing, motorcycling, and woodworking.

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  James P. Comer, Crematory Manager

  James P. Comer joined the Spence Funeral Home Staff in 2001 after thirty-five years as a Senior Customer Service Agent with USAir Airlines, where he was Customer Service Agent of the year in 1994, retiring in 1995. Jim serves as the Crematory Manager and Funeral Assistant. He was Managing Partner of Veterinary Cremation Services for six years. Jim and his wife Charlotte are members of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church where Jim is involved with the Bereavement Ministry and Seton Sages. He is a member of the Knights of Columbus 4th degree, Shamrock Club and charter member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians. Jim has three children and five grandchildren. Interests include aviation, Irish history, tinkering in the yard and especially his grandchildren.
  
  

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  Natalie Craycraft, Administrative Assistant

  Natalie Craycraft has been employed at the Dwayne R. Spence Funeral Home since October, 2008. She works full time as an Administrative Assistant. She is married to Patrick Craycraft and together they have one son. Natalie enjoys reading, running and playing cards in her free time. She is a graduate of Springfield North High School and Wright State University. She is an active member of St. Marys Catholic Church and the Canal Winchester Chamber of Commerce.
  

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  Jonathan Poling, Apprentice Funeral Director & Embalmer

  Jonathan Poling joined the staff of Dwayne R. Spence Funeral Homes and Crematory in December of 2009. A graduate of Fisher Catholic High School, Mr. Poling holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Olivet Nazarene University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Mortuary Science from Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science. A native of Lancaster, Jonathan resides in Grove City. He attends Grove City Church of the Nazarene where he is active in the youth department. His hobbies include playing guitar, basketball, and spending time at the lake with his family.
  
  
  
  

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  Barbara Bigerton, Greeter/Ambassador

  Barbara Bigerton has been employed at Dwayne R. Spence Funeral Home since 1993, greeting visitors as they arrive, and also doing some clerical work. She resides in Canal Winchester and has one daughter, Lorie and son-in-law Kevin Long. She is an active member at David's United Church of Christ, where she sang in the vocal group David's Eight for many years. She enjoys reading, playing cards and dominos.

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  Lori (Spence) McDonough, Office Assistant

  Lori (Spence) McDonough has been employed by the Dwayne R. Spence Funeral Home since June, 2000, as a part-time office assistant. Her job includes billing, and preparing personalized video tributes and stationery. Lori is a graduate of Bloom Carroll High School, and currently lives in Canal Winchester with her husband, John, and their two children Morgan and Hunter. She spends most of her free time with her family, going to her kids' sporting events and walking their two pugs with John. Lori is an active member of the Canal Winchester Chamber of Commerce for the Spence Funeral Home, and regularly attends church.

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  Patsy Haines, Office Assistant

  Patsy Haines has been employed at Dwayne R. Spence Funeral Home since March, 2000, and had previously worked as a greeter/ambassador for four years in the 1990s. She is a part-time office assistant, helps with printing of stationery for services, files paperwork with the Veterans Administration, and other bookkeeping tasks. She has two children, Bridget Bowen and Bruce Haines, and his wife, Josephine Haines; and three grandchildren, Nick, and his wife Laura, Brian and Emily. Patsy enjoys playing cards, her cookbooks, and the many activities she’s involved with at her church, Marcy Trinity Lutheran. She also bakes the pies every spring for our annual clergy luncheon.

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  David Woolf, Funeral Director's Assistant

  David Woolf has been a Pickerington resident since 1970 and employed part-time at Spence Funeral Home since February 2002. He has been married to his wife Neysa for 43 years, and they have two married daughters and four granddaughters. All live in the Pickerington area. He was employed by AT&T Bell Laboratories for 31 years as electrical engineer and now retired. He has been a member of Pickerington Lions Club since 1974, and an active amateur radio operator for 51 years with call of K8RSP. Dave is currently president of the CRES Amateur Radio Club.
  

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  Frank Priddy, Funeral Director's Assistant

  Frank Priddy joined the staff of Dwayne R. Spence Funeral Home in November of 2007. He is our after-care program coordinator, assisting families after the funeral service has occured. He also works part-time as a funeral director's assistant. He is a retired minister and enjoys gardening and taking scenic/historic trips. He and his wife Brenda live in Pickerington and have two children, Terry and Sherry, and four grandchildren.

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  Raymond Gerren, Funeral Director's Assistant

  Ray Gerren joined the Spence Funeral Home staff in 2004 after 46 ½ years in the production department of the Columbus Dispatch Printing Co. Ray works part-time as a funeral director’s assistant. He has been married to Hettie since 1962. They live in Lancaster, are the parents of five children, 13 grandchildren, and 3 great-grandchildren, and they are members of the United Methodist Church. He enjoys playing pickleball, horseshoes, playing dartball in the church league, and playing Santa Claus at Christmastime.

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  Craig Stires, Funeral Director's Assistant

  Craig Stires joined the staff of Dwayne R. Spence Funeral Home in March of 2009. A graduate of Pickerington High School, Craig holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Ohio University and is currently pursuing an Associates of Applied Sciences in Mortuary Science from Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science. A native of Pickerington, Craig resides in Reynoldsburg. His hobbies include scuba diving, cycling, and spending time with friends and family.

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  George Tucker, Greeter/Ambassador

  George Tucker is a part-time funeral director's assistant. He and his wife Bobbi live in Reynoldsburg, and he has three children, three step-children, three grandchildren and eight step-grandchildren. He is retired from Elberfeld Co. in Logan, where he worked for 50 years, and he later worked at Cardaras Funeral Home in Logan for four years before coming to Spence Funeral Home in July, 2006. He is a member of Immanuel United Methodist Church in Logan and is a U.S. veteran of the Korean Conflict.

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  James Golomb, Funeral Director's Assistant

  James Golomb joined the staff of Dwayne R. Spence Funeral Home in January 2010, as a part-time funeral director's assistant. He retired from SBC Communications in 2001 with 27 years of service. Jim and his wife, Karen, moved to Canal Winchester in 2005 and have two daughters and one granddaughter. He is a member of Zion Lutheran Church in Groveport, where he serves on the church council, and is also on the board of directors of Eagle Ridge Condo Association. His interests include camping, travel, antiques and spending time with family and friends.

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  Ken Marckel, Greeter/Ambassador

  Ken W. Marckel joined the Dwayne R. Spence Funeral Home staff in November, 2008 as a part-time assistant. He retired from active ministry in the United Methodist Church in September, 1999. He served four churches in 35 years, and is still called on to perform weddings and funerals. After retirement he served another eight years as an associate in another area church. Ken is married to Liz and they have four children and eight grandchildren, scattered across four states. Ken and Liz are enjoying their retirement while they reside in Pickerington.