Irene Spencer

Irene Spencer (née Kunz; February 1, 1937 – March 12, 2017) was an American author and a widow of Verlan LeBaron, brother of former prophet Joel LeBaron of the Church of the Firstborn of the Fulness of Times, a fundamentalist Mormon offshoot.

Early life

Irene Golda Kunz was born in Salt Lake City, Utah on February 1, 1937, one of 31 children She was the fifth generation of her family to live in polygamy. Her ancestors were members of the LDS Church who believed that they could not attain the highest rewards of heaven unless they were in plural marriages. When the LDS Church banned the practice of polygamy, her family refused to abandon their beliefs and became fundamentalist Mormons.

Married life Following her marriage to Verlan, Spencer relocated to Colonia LeBaron. When the church started a second colony, Los Molinos, on the Baja California peninsula, Verlan moved Spencer and another wife, Ester, into tents on the property. After Verlan built a home, he moved his sixth wife, Susan Ray Schmidt, to Los Molinos to join Spencer and her children.

Verlan worked in Las Vegas, Nevada during the week to earn money to build homes for his wives. He came to Mexico to visit his wives every few weeks, but spent more time in Ensenada than he did with Spencer and Ester in Los Molinos. Spencer was often lonely or jealous.

Spencer and Verlan's other wives had very little money, most of it provided by Charlotte, Spencer's sister and Verlan's first wife, who worked as a preschool teacher in San Diego while her children were raised by another wife, Lucy.

A power struggle ensued between the sons of Alma Dayer LeBaron.

After Joel's death, Verlan was tapped for leadership of the Church of the Firstborn, so Ervil added Irene's family to his hit list. To escape the death threats, Irene and her children were forced to move to Nicaragua, where they lived in huts without electricity or indoor plumbing, battled ticks and jungle insects, and were infected by intestinal worms. After seeking spiritual advice outside of the polygamist community, she was convinced to return to Verlan in 1980. One year later, on August 16, 1981, Verlan died in an automobile accident. His brother Ervil, had died 2 days prior in the Utah State Penitentiary, where he was serving a life sentence for the murder of Rulon Allred. In 1986, this marriage had ended as well. She then entered a monogamous marriage around 1988 to Hector J. Spencer, Spencer became a born-again Christian at the urging of one of her sons and became an outspoken critic of polygamy. She wrote several books, including Shattered Dreams: My Life as a Polygamist's Wife and Cult Insanity: A Memoir of Polygamy, Prophets, and Blood Atonement to shed light on the realities of polygamy in modern America.

Hector Spencer died on January 21, 2013, at their home in Mexico, where he was buried.