Medical fund for Spencer Nitchie of Banjo News Letter

John Lawless on Bluegrass Today posts the sad news that Spencer Nitchie, the business editor of Banjo News Letter (BNL; founded by his father fifty years ago) is suffering from cancer of the liver and pancreas. A GoFundMe campaign has been launched to help his family meet medical expenses; at the time of writing this post, $15,455 has been raised towards a target of $50,000.

John Lawless mentions that while BNL is dedicated to the 5-string banjo, and Spencer's father Hub favoured bluegrass and his brother Donald old-time music, Spencer himself plays tenor banjo. A video of him playing Irish music can be seen on the GoFundMe page and on YouTube; other footage on YouTube shows him improvising in swing style on the tenor.

Update 7 Aug.: We learn with regret that Spencer Nitchie died yesterday (6 Aug.). Helene Clay, organiser of the medical fund (for which $29,723 has now been received) reports that donations are still welcome, as there is no knowing what total expenses may be.

© Richard Hawkins