Spellman, George William

George William Spellman

Winston Churchill once said, “Russia is a riddle wrapped in mystery inside an enigma.” While he was speaking of a nation, he could also been speaking of George William Spellman, who passed unexpectedly on Sunday, Nov. 14, 2010, in his home in Marion, Iowa. George's physical presence may be gone from this earth, but his indomitable personality lives on in the hearts and minds of those who knew him.

George Spellman was many things - a father, a brother, a son, an uncle, a grandfather and recently a great-grandfather, a co-worker, a veteran and a friend, but in addition to these roles he also was quite simply an unforgettable force to those who knew him.

His vision for how he wished to spend his life was formed early and in that vision was the ability to travel the globe doing interesting work and he accomplished this goal.

He began his career as a New Jersey longshoreman and next were stints on oil tankers traversing ports worldwide to a later career as a top executive with Harris Corporation in New York City, Quincy, Ill., and Melbourne, Fla., and later at General Electric in Rochester N.Y., and Erie, Pa. A look at his multiple passports each with extra pages full of customs stamps from across the globe tells story of an interesting life.

George loved to read and history was among his favorite topics. He had an amazing ability to recall details of battles, intrigue, from the minute to the momentous, and when anyone tried to stump him, he was always frustratingly correct – we know because many of us tried to stump him and almost always lost.

And we have lost again because he leaves behind family and friends that will miss his razor sharp mind, quick wit and his uncanny ability to solve thorny challenges. He was born in New York City, lived in New Jersey for many years, moved to Quincy, Ill., in the mid-70s to take a small company global and then he moved to various locations in the US making his imprint along the way. He moved to Iowa to be closer to family as he battled tough health challenges that included a kidney transplant. He had many battles with today's challenging health care system, but he never complained about his health to his family or friends and he lived almost 15 years as a kidney transplant recipient.

He was born August 10, 1934, in New York City, the son of William Spellman and Genevieve Heck Spellman and was a graduate of Rutherford's St. Mary's High School and Rutgers University.

He leaves behind many friends and family including his daughter, Lisa Spellman and husband Mark Trimble of Iowa City; daughter, Karen Spellman Zanger and husband Greg Zanger of Quincy, Ill.; and a son, Matt Spellman and wife Erin of Cedar Rapids; his grandson, Adam Zanger and his wife, Katherine and their two children Briana and Dominic; grandsons, Luke, Josh, Jared and Jordan Zanger, all of Quincy, IL; his brother, John Spellman and Howard Spellman of Hasbrouck Heights, N.J.; and many nieces, nephews and great-nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his daughter, Lesley Jean Spellman; and his parents, William Spellman and Genevieve Heck Spellman.

The family requests no flowers instead preferring to help his memory live on with donations to the Cedar Valley Humane Society, www.cvhumane.org or the National Transplant Assistance Fund, www.nata.org The family also welcomes online condolences that may be directed to www.stewartbaxter.com

A memorial service will be held graveside at 1:30 p.m. today at Calvary Cemetery in Quincy, Ill. A memorial service will be held in the Iowa City/Cedar Rapids area at a later date.