Sonia Spinka

Sonia Spinka, nee Comiss, 107, of Olathe, Kansas passed away on November 8, 2021. She was the wife of the late William Spinka; mother to Allen (Susan) Spinka, the late Sheldon (Bonnie) Spinka and the late Tina Spinka; grandmother of Jay (Mahjal) Spinka, Jennifer (Glenn) Howard, the late Jason Spinka, Roger (Theresa) Martin, Rachel Anne, Michael (Colleen) Spinka, and Stevi Spinka; great grandmother to Jude, Luke, Tyler, Ashley, Alex, Andrew, Lila as well as to her furry grandchildren Sammy, the late Bailey and the late Bella; beloved aunt, great-aunt, great-great-aunt and cousin to many. Sonia was preceded in death by her parents Samuel and Ida Comiss, nee Yakimovsky, as well as her siblings Ruth (Louis Bordon and Jack) Altman, Tema (Joseph Hershberg and Louis) Dunoff, Morris (Mary) Comiss, Gertrude (Morris) Klein, and Mickey (Seymour) Leavitt.

Sonia was born on October 18, 1914 in Slonim, Poland. She was the fourth child of Samuel and Ida. Times were not easy for the family between the wars fought on the borders and the money troubles many of the Eastern European Jews faced. Thus when she was 6 years old, Sonia went to live with her wealthier and childless Aunt Reizel and Uncle Szmuel Ostrynski and her father immigrated to America to find a better life for the family.

While with her aunt and uncle Sonia was treated as their daughter, living in a luxurious brick home with multiple gardens, receiving the best education possible and often surprised with little gifts from her uncle when he returned from business trips. Sonia stayed with her aunt and uncle until she was 15 and her father had saved enough money to bring the family to Chicago. The family left Slonim just in time to escape the Nazis, sadly Reizel and Szmuel did not.

The family arrived in America not speaking English and so, though a teenager, Sonia was placed in Kindergarten. Through hard work and determination she was able to learn the language and move up to the 8th grade in a year before taking night school to finish high school. Sadly, not long after the family came to America, Sonia’s father passed away from cancer. With some elbow grease and that ingrained determination, in order to make money for the family, Sonia opened a luncheon restaurant with her mother on the corner of Division and Damen in Chicago. It is there that Sonia met her husband William. He was one of the restaurant's first customers, and Sonia would say there was electricity when she first shook William’s hand. William and Sonia married in August of 1940 in his parent’s bungalow where they lived for the first few years of their marriage, which lasted 50 years until William’s passing. After raising their family in Chicago, Sonia and William moved to Florida. They enjoyed many years of sunshine together. Sonia developed a fondness for bingo which became one of her favorite activities.

Sonia remained in Florida for most of her life until moving to Kansas to be closer to family once she became a centenarian. She lived alone and was completely independent until about 104 when she moved into a beautiful mother-in-law suite at her son Allen's house. She was independent there too until she needed more daily help. Sonia moved upstairs to a beautiful bedroom where her son Allen cared for her every need. Above and beyond. He is an incredible person and an amazing son.

Sonia had passion for travel and spent time traveling Europe, Israel and a number of the United States. With her siblings, nieces, and nephews spread throughout the country, Sonia visited as much as she could. Never driving herself, Sonia was very fond of taking the bus, and would often take cross country road trips to see family alone in her 90s and 100s. She celebrated decades of birthdays and new years participating in an annual tradition with her granddaughter Rachel and family that consisted of dinner and the casino for some Wheel of Fortune.

Life did not always deal Sonia an easy hand, but she had an eternal optimism about her and an infectious joy that would leave even strangers smiling. Once again she is reunited with her family telling jokes, playing cards, and stealing a bowl of ice cream covered with some Baileys.

A graveside service will be held on Friday, November 12, at 12:00 PM for Sonia at Shalom Memorial Park, 1700 W. Rand Rd, Arlington Heights, IL 60004. Information on lunch and shiva can be obtained by emailing Rachel at [email protected].

Sonia never said goodbye. She would always say "so long for now".

"So long for now".