Harvey L. Spaunburg

Harvey Lewis Spaunburg, Jr., 96, of Bloomfield, CT and Eastham, MA, died peacefully at his home in Bloomfield, Thursday, October 10, 2019. Harvey was the beloved husband of Mary Joan (Jaques) Spaunburg. Born February 1, 1923, in Bristol, CT, Harvey was son of the late Harvey L. and Daisy (Brown) Spaunburg. With his family, he moved to West Hartford in 1936. He was a graduate of William H. Hall High School, class of 1940, Wilbraham Academy, class of 1941 and of the University of Michigan, School of Business Administration. He was a member of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity. It was at Michigan that he met his wife, Mary Jo, when both were freshmen. His college studies were interrupted by World War II, during which Harvey served as an officer in the United States Navy in both the European and Pacific theaters of operation, and as Commanding Officer of the USS LST 1034. After his discharge from the Navy, Harvey returned to Ann Arbor to complete his studies. He and Mary Jo were married in 1947 when they returned to Connecticut, living in West Hartford for many years before moving to Bloomfield in 1988. Harvey was employed by the Hartford Special Machinery Company for thirty-five years and, at the time of his retirement, was its president. He had served as a Director of Hartford Special, the Hartford County Manufacturers Association, as a Trustee of Kingswood-Oxford School, the Hartford Rehabilitation Center, the Hartford Hospital Association, and was a Corporator of Hartford Hospital. He was a former member of the Hartford Golf Club, the Chequesset Yacht & Country Club in Wellfleet, MA, the Old Guard of West Hartford, and the Twentieth Century Club. He was a member of St. John’s Episcopal Church and a former Senior Warden of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Bloomfield. During his retirement, he was an active volunteer for Meals on Wheels and the American Red Cross Blood Bank. Harvey loved most sports, especially track and field and baseball in high school, sailing on Bantam Lake as a teenager and on Pleasant Bay on Cape Cod as an adult, and tennis, paddle tennis, golf, and downhill skiing all of which he continuing to enjoy into his 80’s. After moving to Duncaster, he delighted in playing bridge and poker with friends and in competing in pool and table tennis tournaments. He was also an enthusiastic amateur actor, participating in the Duncaster Play-Readers Group. In addition to his wife, Mary Jo, Harvey was predeceased by his parents, his younger brother, John V. Spaunburg, and his older sister, Katherine Estelle (Spaunburg) Vaughan. He is survived by his daughter, Martha S. Church, his son-in-law John H. Church of West Hartford; his grandsons, Thomas R. Church (Sara) of Duluth, MN, and Daniel P. Church (Astrid) of St. Paul, MN; granddaughter Caroline C. Merkl (William) of St. Paul, MN; and great-granddaughter Maisie L. Church also of St. Paul. The family is grateful for the kind and thoughtful care Harvey received at the Caleb Hitchcock Health Center at Duncaster. A graveside service will be held at the convenience of the family. In lieu of flowers, donations in Harvey’s memory may be made to Hartford Hospital, Attn: Department of Philanthropy, 80 Seymour St., P.O. Box 5037, Hartford CT 06102 or to the Duncaster Foundation, 40 Loeffler Road, Bloomfield, CT 06002. Taylor & Modeen Funeral Home, West Hartford has care of arrangements. For online condolences please visit www.taylorandmodeen.com