The Topeka Capital Journal reports Ken Crockett’s work, “Kenneth and Helen Spencer of Kansas: Champions of Culture & Commerce in the Sunflower State,” traces the couple’s backgrounds and how they shared the wealth that they built. The couple donated millions of dollars to help establish various research libraries, art museums and research institutes in Kansas and Missouri.

Kenneth Spencer was the son of the owner of the Pittsburg & Midway Coal Mining Company that later developed Spencer Chemical in the 1940s. The couple also formed a charitable foundation.