John Edward Spaulding Jr.

SAULT STE. MARIE — John Edward Spaulding Jr., of Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., passed onto a more peaceful life on Friday, Jan. 25, 2008, at the home of his dear friend, Leah Sobczynski. John was 71 years old.

John was born in Harbor Springs on Nov. 2, 1936. He was raised in both Harbor Springs and Ovid.

After graduating from Ovid High School in 1954, he met and married Kathryn Louise Crowley (Henschell), who survives. After living in Lansing and Bay City, the couple moved their growing family to Traverse City in 1968, where John lived until 1992, when he relocated to Petoskey and then Sault Ste. Marie.

John and Kathy were the proud parents of five children, Martin (Mickey) Spaulding of Kalamazoo, Molly (Robert) Ellis of Libertyville, Ill., Stephen (Tracy) Spaulding of Central Lake, Leah (Nathan) Capper of Benzonia and Mimi Spaulding of Traverse City, who survive. As well, John's memory lives on through seven grandsons and four granddaughters.

The oldest son of eleven children, John is survived by siblings, Shirley Tomalia of Auburn Hills, Susan Stinson of Ovid, Charles "Skip" Spaulding of Lebanon, Mo., David (Betty) Spaulding of TexArkana, Texas, Becky McKenzie of Sterling Heights, Robyn (Ellen) Spaulding of Leslie, Sally (Roger) Daniels of Big Rapids and Ellen (Roger) Brainard of Hanover. Also surviving are brother-in-law, Cliff O'Donnell of Hancock; and sister-in-law, Pam Bond of Jackson.

John was preceded in death by his father, John Edward Sr.; his mother, Sarah Ellen (McGinnis) Spaulding; his sister, Barbara O'Donnell; and brother, Tommy Spaulding.

John had the gift of gab, a fast smile and told painfully bad jokes. He used all of these things to his advantage, working for years as a Pharmaceutical Sales Representative with both McKesson and Robbins, and Humiston-Keeling.

John would never have been accused of being an easy person. His personality was complex and often unpredictable; his children now find in themselves some of the qualities they once viewed as difficult and, at times, exasperating. Fierce loyalty to family, a sense of privacy, pride, a love of the finer things and eccentricity were among these traits. A tendency to say or do too much was to be expected.

In earlier days, John enjoyed camping with his family, fishing and cooking. Without fail, he enjoyed a big glass of ice-milk and cookies in the wee hours. John loved team sports and was known as "pygmy John" on his high school sports teams due to his "scrappy" nature. He had an uncanny ability to foresee events yet to take place in a game. Though a southpaw, he could bat better from the right side and loved playing baseball with the neighborhood kids.

John lived his life possessing the soul of an artist and musician while staying occupied in life by things he certainly succeeded at, but perhaps was not fulfilled by. John's great passion was music, which he instilled in all of his children, for which each is profoundly grateful. His love of the arts was evident by his love of painting, playing his Kalamazoo Gibson guitar and singing Beatles tunes or Danny Boy at the top of his lungs. He was an amazing natural tenor. John had a strong interest in poetry, art history and Celtic music.

He was exceedingly proud of his Scottish/Irish heritage. He loved to hang with the Traverse City Hibernians and was a dedicated fan of the Tannahill Weavers. John enjoyed helping others gain literacy skills and could answer just about any Jeopardy question posed to him.

A memorial service is scheduled at the Central Lake Chapel of Mortensen Funeral Homes on Friday, Feb. 1, at 2 p.m. A graveside cremation burial will take place in the spring at The Lakeview Cemetery in Harbor Springs, where John will be laid to rest just a few miles from the place of his birth, near his father, his grandparents and his great-grandfather.

In lieu of flowers, please direct any contributions to the John Spaulding Memorial Fund at Huntington Bank. Contributions will be directed to a scholarship fund for his grandchildren.

The family has entrusted the Mortensen Funeral Homes with arrangements.

This obituary was originally published in the Record-Eagle.