John Spadaro

John Spadaro, a resident of Sarasota, Florida (formerly of New York and Palm Beach Gardens, Florida) passed away peacefully, with his daughters by his side, on Wednesday, April 21, 2020 at the age of 93.

John was born April 19,1927 in Brooklyn, NY to Salvatore and Josephine (Pennino) Spadaro. He married his wife Gloria in 1951 and they had two daughters.

John served as an MP in the U.S. Army during World War II. During his deployment in Kassel, Germany he was assigned to a displaced persons camp, an experience that left a lasting impression on him.

After the war John joined Curtiss-Wright Aeronautical, working in the Experimental Aircraft Engines Division, where he received commendation for his exceptional work on Turbo Prop engines.

His career took a major turn when he began work at Mergenthaler Linotype Company. There he was part of research and development for typesetting equipment. As a field technician he traveled widely in the United States and internationally with trips to Japan, Germany, Belgium, England, Finland, Sweden, Lebanon and Brazil. Of all the cities he traveled to, his favorite was Rio de Janeiro, where he admired the diversity of the people—along with the weather and beaches. In all, he traveled over one million air miles, all before frequent flyer mileage programs!

At Merganthaler, he developed a reputation for being the person who could solve a problem when no one else could, establishing him as one of their best technicians.

John left Mergenthaler to start his own company in New York City. He had many high profile clients including Photolettering Corporation and ironically, Mergenthaler Linotype. He employed fifteen people including his wife Gloria, who made sure the company ran as smoothly as the typesetting equipment they serviced. John dissolved the business in the late 1980s to prepare for his and Gloria’s retirement to Florida.

John was an amateur photographer who, as a young husband and father, developed film in the bathroom of a one-bathroom apartment!. He developed both black and white and color film and had an amazing ability to hand color photographs with oils. His favorite model was his wife Gloria.

When his daughters were young, John loved to make his “famous” pancakes from scratch every Saturday. He liked to spend time at home working on projects big and small-- build a shed as solid as a house, or construct paper kites for the girls. John admired Leonardo da Vinci and shared his curiosity about how things worked and how they could be made to work even better. He loved to design clever solutions for improving things around the house and his family could rely on him to fix anything.

John was a skilled craftsman who enjoyed woodworking, mechanical engineering, and drafting. In his sixties, he learned to arc weld, creating a space in his workshop for a complete welding station.

He enjoyed making furniture, and when his daughter needed a sturdy bookcase that could travel to college, he constructed a wooden bookcase with no nails or hardware that could be assembled by simply sliding the pieces together. She still uses it.

He is survived by his daughter, Joani Spadaro and her husband, Edwin Utermohlen of Sarasota, Florida; his daughter Jacqueline Spadaro, of Lebanon, New Hampshire and her partner Peter Cohen of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; his sisters Vee Matarazzo of Florida and Maryann Nelson and her husband John of Florida; his partner Jean Bacino of Queens, New York, and several nieces, nephews, and extended family members. He is predeceased by his wife Gloria (Privitera) Spadaro, his sister Rose Biviano, and his brother Anthony.

Due to Covid19 restrictions, there will not be a funeral service in Sarasota, Florida; a graveside service is scheduled at Moravian Cemetery in New York, but the cemetery is closed and entry is limited to five people; therefore, only immediate family will attend. If the restrictions are lifted, new information will be posted here.