George Spiro, 97, of Boynton Beach, Florida, passed away peacefully on May 11, 2021. Rabbi Howard Shub and Cantor Irving Grossman of Temple Beth Tikvah officiated at I.J. Morris at Star of David Cemetery of the Palm Beaches and were accompanied by an honor guard from the U.S. Army.
Born in the Bronx, New York on June 6, 1923, George was the son of Samuel and Betty Spiro. He married his wife of nearly 77 years, Lillian (nee Blumenthal), in February 1943 before enlisting in the U.S. Army where he was a member of the Signal Corps and rose to the rank of sergeant. As part of General George Patton's Third Army during World War II, he fought in the Battle of the Bulge, the largest and bloodiest battle of the war. For his service in helping to liberate France, he was later awarded the Ordre National de la Legion D'Honneur by the President of France.
Returning to the U.S. after the end of the war, he worked for N.Y. Telephone while studying at New York University College of Engineering. He earned a bachelors degree in electrical engineering and masters degree in industrial engineering with honors, and was a member of the honorary engineering societies Etta Kappa Nu and Tau Beta Pi.
He later worked at Bell Labs in Holmdel, New Jersey as the head of switching service engineering, and was promoted to general manager, network systems engineering (chief engineer) at Western Electric, a part of AT&T Network Systems. He led the teams that developed the 9-1-1 emergency phone system and customer calling services including call waiting, call forwarding, and speed calling. During that time, he also served as a vice president of Congregation B'nai Israel in Rumson, New Jersey and was honored by Israel Bonds.
George is survived by his brother Norman Spiro (Sharon); sister Marilyn Hey; daughter Barbara Crane (Hal); son Theodore Spiro (Minnie); grandchildren Shoshana Natt (Brett), Joelle Kanter (Andrew), and Sam Spiro; as well as his great grandchildren Jaden Natt, Alex Natt, and Bennett Kanter, and many loving nieces, nephews, and their families.
He was predeceased by his wife, Lillian Spiro; brother Arthur Spiro; and sister Harriet Gelburd.
Contributions in George's memory may be made to Magen David Adom, Friends of the Israel Defense Forces, or Temple Beth Tikvah, Greenacres, Florida.
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