Robert E. (Bob) Spenger, professor emeritus of chemistry, died Jan. 20 at the age of 92. Spenger of Big Pine, Calif., joined Cal State Fullerton in 1964 and taught organic chemistry for nearly 25 years.
Spenger earned his doctorate in organic chemistry from UCLA and conducted postdoctoral work at the UC Riverside Agricultural Experiment Station. He entered the University of California, Berkeley, in 1942, but joined the service after a semester, where he repaired airplanes during World War II at the military base in Brownsville, Texas.
At CSUF, in addition to teaching lower- and upper-division chemistry courses, the avid hiker and cyclist advised the student mountaineering club, and after he retired, tutored chemistry students. He was a 1959-60 National Science Fellow, and a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and American Chemical Society.
He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Constance Spenger of Big Pine; daughter, Diana Koenig of Van Buren, Mo.; niece, Kay Whipp of San Pablo; and grand-niece, Tracy Magee of El Cerrito.
A memorial service will be held in the spring.