Thomas Joseph Spinelli

Thomas Joseph Spinelli, 66, passed away on Sunday, July 10, 2016 at his home, surrounded by many of his loved ones and wife Virginia. He was born on September 16, 1949 in Glendale, CA to his loving parents Gabe & Audrey Spinelli. He was the biggest, cutest baby in the hospital according to his mother and two older sisters. He was the youngest of 3 in the family and the only boy. He was an adventurer from day one, a daredevil since the beginning and was often too smart to stay interested in his schooling (except Spanish, which despite having a personal tutor for several decades, never seemed to catch on and called his nieces and nephews mija and mijo). After graduating from High School, he worked for Diner’s Club and was the right-hand man to the President. This is where he met Virginia for the first time, her car had broken down and he stopped to help her. They dated for a short time, a relationship they would rekindle 25 years later and were married in 1993. Tom was always very handy and could fix and build just about anything. One of his hobbies was taking electronics apart and putting them back together without all of the “unnecessary parts.” He would say it would work better this way, better than when it was new. He was always the person to go to when anything was broken, fixing water heaters, neighbor’s leaking pipes, garage doors, dvd players and even spent time rewiring a family member’s stereo system, despite fighting cancer at the time. He loved the neighborhood kids and he showed that every Halloween by creating the highlight of the community at his well-decorated house, which included many of his own electronic displays. He started working at Pitney Bowes in March of 1985, a rollercoaster career he worked for 30 years. He mastered the position and was often sought after for advice, even after retiring. He loved racecars, monster trucks, cats, animals, holidays, Christmas cookies (which he helped make), eating pizza, animated movies and watching TV. Tom is survived by his wife Virginia, daughter and son-in-law Gaby and Gabriel, two grandchildren Rielle and Isaac (who inherited many of his inquisitive traits), sisters Doreen and Charlene, many nieces and nephews, his godson Fabian, and his cat Shadow (who sat by him to the very end). One of his friends said he was a respectable and principled man. A man who is greatly admired. Tom will be greatly missed.