Dr. Yvonne Goolsby Spencer was born on December 6, 1934 in Stokes County, North Carolina and passed away on January 14, 2019 in her home in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.  She was the daughter of the late Lacy and Joseph Goolsby and was the youngest of her sisters, Lavanuel Lang and the late Helen Hairston.  She was a beloved mother of her two surviving sons, Maurice and Gregory Spencer.  Her surviving cousins are Ray Goolsby, Leonard Goolsby, Ruth Goolsby Dalton, Mary Goolsby, Regina Goolsby, Norma Jean Goolsby Thomas, Lorraine Watkins Phillips, Kenny Watkins, Andrea Goolsby Davis, and Joe Mitchell.

A life-long advocate of nursing care Yvonne's vocation was a professor of nursing education with a special interest in oncology.  She began her higher education at Lincoln Hospital School of Nursing in Durham, NC receiving her diploma as a Registered Nurse; she was her class president and editor of The Scapel school yearbook.  From North Carolina A&T State University she earned a Bachelor's degree in Nursing and a Master's degree in Education.  She also received another Master's degree in Nursing from Widener University and her Doctorate degree in Education from Columbia University.  Yvonne was a member of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority.

Dr. Spencer was respected for her impact on the communities where she lived and taught.  In 1981 Mayor Ernest Morial bestowed the title of the City of New Orleans' Honorary Citizen to Yvonne.  She volunteered her services as the Head Disaster Nurse for the American Red Cross chapters in New Orleans and Greensboro.  Yvonne was honored for her outstanding achievements and significant contributions to the betterment of contemporary society by The Marquis' "Who's Who" in Nursing Education.   Sister Yvonne Spencer was a third degree Amaranth recipient of the Order of the Eastern Star, Meridian Chapter of the Prince Hall Masons.  The County of Durham's Board of Commissioners appointed her to the Nursing Home Advisory Committee.  Dr. Spencer was especially proud to serve as vice president of research and development for the Spencer Foundation for Spinal Cord Research at Duke University.  Sigma Xi Scientific Research Society's North Carolina Central University Chapter honored Yvonne for her devotion to the promotion of research in science.  Dr. Spencer was a devoted member of Centenary United Methodist Church for twelve years where she also enjoyed serving on the church's usher board for many years.

In 1994 Vice President Al Gore expressed his appreciation for her views regarding the nation's Space Station program.  She served as the president of the Space Nursing Society located in Palmdale, California from 1996-1998.  This is an international space advocacy organization devoted to space nursing and space exploration by registered nurses and is affiliated with the National Space Society.  During several summers, Yvonne was a space camp instructor at NASA's space operation in Birmingham, Alabama.  In 2001 Dr. Spencer was honored in appreciation of her dedicated service to the Space Nursing Society.

She loved teaching her cherished nursing students, knowing how important their vocations would be to all society both locally and internationally.  Yvonne served as a professor of Nursing at the Schools of Nursing at North Carolina A&T State University, Greensboro; Touro Hospital, New Orleans; Tulane University, New Orleans; Widener University, Philadelphia; and Winston-Salem State University.  She retired in 2006 from North Carolina Central University, Durham where she had been on staff as a teaching professor and assistant dean in the School of Nursing; it was here that in 2003 North Carolina Central University's College of Arts and Sciences awarded Dr. Spencer with the Outstanding Service Award.  The School of Nursing's faculty and staff presented Dr. Spencer with a plaque in gratitude for her commitment and service to the Department of Nursing and to the students at North Carolina Central University from August 1986 to May 2006.

Dr. Spencer's memorial service will be held at 2:00pm Sunday, January 27, 2019 at Centenary United Methodist Church, 646 West Fifth Street, Winston-Salem, NC 27101.

In lieu of flowers, gifts in memory of Dr. Spencer can be made to Lincoln Hospital School of Nursing Alumni Assoc., Inc., PO Box 81, Durham, NC 27702 or Centenary United Methodist Church, PO Box 658, Winston-Salem, NC 27102.