Frances Grzejka Spaeder

Frances was born on November 5, 1935 in Erie, PA to the late Frank and Constance (Gajewski) Grzejka who were both Polish immigrants to the United States.

She grew up speaking Polish at home and quickly learned English at school. Known for being the most fearless girl in her neighborhood, she was the only girl able to sled down the local snow-covered hilly streets while standing upright, much to the chagrin of the neighborhood boys.

After graduating from Villa Marie High School in Erie, she matriculated to Villa Maria College where she studied Nursing and obtained her Bachelors of Science in Nursing. She then obtained her Master’s degree in Nursing from Western Reserve University (now Case Western Reserve University), and returned to Villa Marie College to become a nursing instructor.

While teaching nursing at the “Villa” she met Erie-native Leo J. Spaeder, Jr on one of his return trips from Pittsburgh, PA where he was working. After a brief one-year long-distance courtship, they married in 1965, and she moved with Leo to Pittsburgh, where she became a nursing instructor at Duquesne University, pausing teaching following the birth of her two sons. She returned to teaching when her boys were older, as an instructor of nursing at the Western Pennsylvania School of Nursing where she taught Medical-Surgical nursing with emphasis on neurosurgical post-operative care, and where she was beloved by her students, especially those who, like herself, were first-generation college students.

To make “ends meet” while she was home raising children, Frances sewed clothes for the family, hand-made Halloween costumes for the boys, and was a constant presence at the swim meets of her sons. She also assembled, by hand, the family’s first color television through which she passed her passion for the Pittsburgh Steelers to her boys.

She was also active in the Forest Hills Woman’s Club, and a lecturer at her local Catholic parish, St. Maurice (now part of St. Joseph the Worker Parish), in the Pittsburgh suburb of Forest Hills, PA. After her retirement, she became devoted to the parish chapter of The Ladies of Charity, eventually becoming president of the St. Maurice chapter, as well as being a member of the parish “prayer line.”

In 2020 during the onset of the COVID pandemic, she and her husband moved to Galloway Ridge in Pittsboro, NC to be closer to their sons and grandchildren. In 2021 she was hospitalized for elective minimally-invasive aortic valve surgery but contracted COVID while an inpatient, and while her symptoms were mild, the isolation procedures and delay in surgery resulted in significant debilitation and forced her to be transferred to the rehabilitation and skilled-nursing facilities at the Arbor, which serves the Galloway Ridge community. Her husband remained at her side until his health deteriorated and he too was transferred to the Arbor two rooms away from her. They were both beloved by the staff at Galloway Ridge, and she was the unofficial “Queen of the Arbor” as evidenced by the scores of current and former staff members visited her bedside in her final days, and who share in her family’s loss and sadness.

In addition to her parents, she is preceded in death by her husband of 57 years, Leo J. Spaeder, Jr., with whom she joined in heaven on the first Valentine’s Day since his death in 2023, and the 59th consecutive Valentine’s Day that they shared together. She is also preceded in death by her older brothers Raymond Graeca and Thaddeus Grzejka, as well as Leo’s beloved aunt and uncle, Beatrice Kraus (née McCabe) and Gerald Kraus.

She is lovingly remembered by her two sons, Tim Spaeder (Ivana) and Jeff Spaeder (Gwyneth) and her five grandchildren (William, Nela, Claire, Lucy, and Nina).

A funeral mass will be held on 4 March 2024 11:00 at St. Mary Magdalene Catholic Church in Apex, NC with internment following at the parish’s columbarium in the same niche with her husband Leo.

In lieu of customary remembrances, Frances’ wish was that any memorial contributions be made on her behalf to your place of worship.

Fond memories and expressions of condolences can be shared online at apexfuneral.net for the Spaeder family or with her son Tim Spaeder at 1334 Padstone Drive, Apex, NC 27502