The staff of Spitler School recently joined the Spitler family in mourning the loss—while honoring the remarkable legacy—of Irvin Spitler, who passed away peacefully at the age of 97.
Irvin was the father of Spitler School founders Danny and Pam Spitler.

From the very beginning, Irvin was a steadfast supporter of the school’s mission. He financed the construction of the first permanent school building and continued to provide funding for a number of special projects over the years. His dedication played an important role in helping the school grow and serve generations of students. His last visit to the school was in 2015, when he was 87 years old.

The Spitler family was deeply moved when the staff held a special moment of silence to honor his memory. In tribute to their father, Irvin’s children have designated a $10,000 gift to the school.

This generous gift will help fund repairs to one of the roads used daily by Spitler School students and their families. The road will be named Ang Chagn Peace – Irvin Spitler Road in recognition of his lasting contribution. A portion of the funds will also be used to provide a small bonus for the foundation’s staff and to assist several refugee families displaced by the Thailand–Cambodia border conflict with food support.

The family is grateful that Irvin lived a long and productive life and that his legacy will live on, not only with his own family, but with his extended family – the staff and children at Spitler School.

Thank you to Mark and Jean Miller who for the third year in a row have committed to match our December donations, dollar of dollar up to $10,000. We are well on our way to meeting their challenge. Per Mark and Jean’s request a portion of those funds have been used to provide tuition assistance for one of our graduates who is pursuing a nursing degree at the local university. It’s not too late for you to double your donation!

NOTE: Spitler School Foundation can receive donations of appreciated stocks, bonds, and IRA required minimum distributions, which may provide significant tax advantages for some donors. Please contact us for additional information.

Thanks & Wishes

As we bring 2025 to a close, we send our heartfelt thanks to our donor family for their loyal and continuing funding of the SSF-supported students and staff. Hundreds of deserving children are receiving a basic education because of your generosity.

From the Spitler School Foundation students, staff, and family, we send our very best wishes for a Happy New Year!

We continue to monitor the increasing military tensions between Thailand and Cambodia. Thus far military action has been confined to the border areas, and not an immediate threat to our students and staff. However, Siem Reap is only 90 miles from the border and is the closest major city. Unfortunately, that means thousands of refugees from the border areas are fleeing into Siem Reap and putting a strain on the city’s residents and resources.

Spitler School is welcoming at least 13 of these refugee children into the school. We hope that they will be able to return safely to their own school, but in the meantime, we will try and provide as much education as we can to these vulnerable young students.

We also have three refugee students attending Kurata School and three students attending the middle school and high school.

We sincerely hope these disputes can be resolved soon so that these students can return to their homes and schools.

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We would sincerely appreciate your donation to help the children of rural Cambodia
realize their amazing potential.