Obituary : Riley Spencer; Longtime Moorpark Grocer

Riley Spencer, who ran a grocery store in Moorpark for 30 years, died Friday of a heart attack, family members said. He was 96.

Spencer began as an oil driller in Ventura, said his daughter, Elizabeth Roe of Moorpark. But after doing that for 20 years, he decided to go into the grocery business, Roe said.

He operated three stores, all called Spencer’s Market, from 1944 to the mid-1980s, when he retired, Roe said. All of the stores were in Moorpark, two on Los Angeles Avenue and one on High Street, she said.

She described her father as a hard worker and a strict businessman who nonetheless extended credit to needy customers when others would not.

“It was a different era,” she said. “People trusted each other.”

Survivors include his daughter, six grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held Wednesday at 1 p.m. at Moorpark United Methodist Church. Donations to the church are requested in lieu of flowers.