Anthony Spodobalski's Obituary
Anthony Chester Spodobalski
1933 - 2024
Major Anthony Chester Spodobalski, US Army (Retired) of Lakewood, Washington passed away peacefully on August 15, 2024, at the age of 90. Tony, as he was known to his friends, was born In Philadelphia, PA on September 5, 1933, to Chester and Martha (Szafranski) Spodobalski.
Tony was raised in Fish Town where he started his primary education at the St Laurentius parish school.When the nuns finally discovered that he could not read, write, or even understand Polish, he was transferred to Holy Name of Jesus School where, in the third grade, he met the girl who would later become his wife, Clare Heiser.
Tony later attended West Catholic High School where he played football and ran track. Tony also rantrack while attending La Salle College on a scholarship with the Army Reserve Officer Training Corps(ROTC) Program. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and was commissioned into the US Army on June 5, 1957. Three days later, he and his sweetheart Clare were married. Fortunately, the US Army granted leave so that the newlyweds could go on their honeymoon before Tony reported for duty at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.
Tony’s military career spanned 21 years. State-side, he was stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington, FortCarson, Colorado, and in Virginia, once at Fort Story and several times at Fort Eustis. These moves explain why his children’s birthplaces were strewn across the continent. Assignments abroad included Sondrestrom Air Base, Greenland, and Benjamin Franklin Village in Mannheim, Germany. Tony served two tours of duty in the Republic of Vietnam. His last and longest assignment beginning in 1972 was tothe Military Air Coordinating (MATCO) Office at McChord Air Force Base. Tony, who held the BronzeStar Medal, retired in December of 1978. He and Clare continued living in Lakewood, Washington.
During and after his time at McChord AFB, Tony volunteered as a member of the National DefenseTransportation Association. He volunteered to coach youth football, basketball and baseball while his children were in school. Later, he loved to attend his grandchildren’s sporting events and root for their teams. Raising tropical fish, setting up HO gauge model trains, photography, rebuilding old clocks and collecting lighthouse memorabilia and antiques were some of Tony’s lifetime interests.
Tony continued his education after retiring from the military and worked in transportation management. However, with Tony’s love of antiques, trains, and clocks, he joined Gerald Cushnyr and Nancy Gotcherat Pacific Run Antique Mall as a member of their sales team. Tony enjoyed making and finding deals,from dickering at yard sales to negotiating with customers.
Tony and Clare traveled extensively throughout their marriage. In addition to heading back to Philly tosee family and friends, they enjoyed taking cruises to Alaska and Mexico, driving to Nevada, Utah, andArizona, and exploring the Washington and Oregon coast. But the place they kept coming back to consistently over the years was Hawaii. Their love of Hawaii began thanks to the R&R program that allowed service members to take leave during their tour of duty in Vietnam to meet with their families. Tony and Clare met up in Honolulu for a short but memorable 6-day visit. Later visits to Hawaii brought them to the island of Maui to the Ka’anapali Beach Club where they returned year after year.
Tony is loved and missed by his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Tony’s children andclose family members include Joseph (Jennifer), Judy (Frank) Brown, Jim, Rose (Bret) Brower, David, andDoreen Cruz. Tony was “Pop” to Samantha (Daniel) Garrett, Anthony (Jackie) Cuda, Jared Spodobalski,Brittany (Derick Sherman) Cuda, Tyler Spodobalski Cruz, Dylan (Kurra) Brown, Caitlyn (Jordan) Hamby,and Nathan Cornwall. He was “Uncle Sonny” to nieces and nephews and “Sonny” to his cousins and friends from his hometown of Philadelphia. Tony will be missed by relatives and friends including the surviving members of the Stitch & Bitch Club and their families.
Tony was preceded in death by Clare, his parents, aunts, uncles, several of his first cousins including hissiter-in-law Joan (Heiser) Winn, Fran Rehm, Fran (Spodobalski) Martin, and Carol Spodobalski and manyof his longtime friends including Sam Momii, Theresa Berardo, and departed members of the Stitch and Bitch Club.
The family would like to thank the medical staff and caregivers of Tacoma General Hospital, AgilityHealth and Rehabilitation and Madigan Army Medical Center along with the family, friends and neighbors who took loving care of Tony these past few years. We are also grateful to the providers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center and the University of Washington Medical Center who also took care of Dad and us throughout Mom’s treatment for leukemia.
Services to honor the life of Tony Spodobalski will be held with military honors at 10 am, Monday,September 9, 2024, at the Aspen Chapel at Mountain View Funeral Home, Lakewood, WA. Graveside service will be at 11:30 am with a Reception following. Visitation for family and friends will be held this Sunday, September 8, between 11:00 am and 4:00 pm at Mountain View. In lieu of flowers, please consider a memorial donation to Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center(FredHutch.org)
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