John Spakowski lost his wife, Sue, to COVID-19 in 2020. It’s been an uphill battle since then for John and his family, who live together in LeRoy.
“It’s been a rough two years,” said Jen Neely, John’s daughter. “It’s been rough. Health issues, for some of us. Managing time, working full-time, helping keep everything going. It’s a lot.”
Jon and Sue met in 1962 at the bank he worked at in Metro Detroit. He got her number after waiting on her one day and decided to give her a call on New Years Eve.
“I called, the lady answered the phone, and I told her who I was and who I was looking for,” said John. “She got on the phone and I asked her if she has any plans for New Years. She said ‘no,’ and I said, ‘well you do now.’ And that was it. Everything just kept getting better and better and better.
John, an Army Veteran, says the rest is history.
“She was really something,” he said. “You didn’t dare touch her feet because she was extremely ticklish, and when she passed, everybody said, ‘how do you know she’s gone?’ I said, ‘watch,’ and I tickled her feet. She was gone.”
After losing his wife, his daughter Jen said he’s been struggling and hasn’t been himself, which is why she nominated him in a community project with Home Depot and a local newspaper. John was selected as one of the winners, getting a new snowblower.
“He can plow,” said Jen. “He loves to do outside projects and help other people. With the snowblower, that we used to have a few years ago, he would go up the driveway and then he’d plow down the roadside and across the street to other people’s driveways. He’ll be able to do that again.”
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