Last of 'old-time' Libby loggers passes away Sunday at age 85

Forrest “Fuzzy” Spencer — believed to be one of Libby’s last old-time loggers — died Sunday, June 29, at Libby Care Center from complications due to asbestosis.

Son Larry Spencer of Boise, Idaho, found it ironic that his 85-year-old father would pass on the final day of the 50th annual Libby Logger Days

“He used to compete in those events,” Larry Spencer said. “He’d win $60 and $70 . . . when a loaf of bread was 10 cents.”

Over the years, it’s been said that Forrest Spencer and his father, Vern, cut down enough trees “to build Libby,” Larry Spencer added.

“He’s the last of one of the true original loggers,” Larry Spencer said about his dad. “When they had to fall trees in the downtown, because of power lines (being in the way), he’d be the one they’d go to.”

Forrest Spencer was born May 13, 1923, in Libby. An outstanding high school athlete, he attended the University of Montana in Missoula, where Forrest played football. At age 19, he joined the military and fought in World War II. Forrest returned to Libby in 1946.

His 40-year career in the woods included working for J. Neils Lumber Co. and Esbon Bache. Forrest Spencer was a tree faller.

“He was in logging when they used the two-man crosscut (saws) and skid out (timber) with horses, and then went to the two-man power saw,” Larry Spencer said. “He saw the evolution of logging all they way through.”

Forrest Spencer liked sharing the story about cutting a tree while holding in the saw in his right hand only. He used his other hand to hold a branch.

“They had a block of trees in the area and it was a steep grade,” Larry Spencer said.

Like most loggers, Forrest Spencer’s injuries were numerous and his days were long, yet he wasn’t a man who complained.

“He was that generation of the quiet time. He never told us anything,” Larry Spencer said.

He, however, remembers hearing his dad complain about the scalers — the guys who measured the trees so Forrest could get paid for the logs he cut.

“It was a constant battle between the scalers and fallers,” Larry Spencer said.

Forrest Spencer logged until he was 68.

“In logging, most are out of the woods when they’re 45,” Larry Spencer said. “You don’t have the same mobility. He always missed the woods.”

In the late 1990s, Forrest Spencer was diagnosed with asbestosis although he’d never worked in a mine. He went through all the treatments and was hospitalized at St. John’s Lutheran Hospital in Libby before going to the care center, where he passed four days later.

Forrest and his wife, Kay, were married for 61 years. Their other sons are Dave Spencer of Idaho Falls, Idaho, and Rick Spencer of Libby.