Richard Sponseller

Dick was born November 11, 1923 in Salem, Ohio. Dick met his wife Janice when he was “dragged along” on a date with his brother, his brother’s girlfriend and the girlfriend’s best friend, Jan. They dated just over a year before they were married on August 29, 1948 in Ebensburg, PA and then settled down to live in Columbiana, Ohio. They had 3 children, Lynn, Nancy and Tim, and eventually added 4 grandchildren and six great grandchildren to the family.

Dick grew up in Ohio and joined the Coast Guard serving from 1943-1946 during WWII. After completing his service, he went to watch repair school at the request of his father who planned to open a jewelry store after he retired. Unfortunately his father Leo died at age 51 (with his mother Myrtle following not too long after at age 52) before those dreams could be realized.

Dick repaired watches for 12 years and then found that his training would be useful for maintenance of time locks on bank vaults. He was trained in this field and subsequently went to work for Diebold who transferred him to Denver where the family has lived for over 50 years. He worked for Diebold for 28 years servicing a multiple state region.

Dick and Jan have done extensive traveling over the years and have been to all 50 states, Great Britain and a good portion of Canada. His favorite vacation destination was Minnesota because Lake of the Woods offers “the best fishing I’ve ever experienced,” with Walleye being his favorite catch. His hobbies over the years included reading and studying anything that had a motor, be it cars, motorcycles, boats, airplanes, motor homes, etc. He had always wanted to learn to fly, but never accomplished that dream. He did own several motorcycles over the years, in addition to a couple of boats and a few camping trailers that the family enjoyed as well.

Dick volunteered for the last 6 years at St Anthony North Hospital delivering mail to all the departments. The employees looked forward to his visits because he always had a smile and usually offered a chuckle or two. It was a blessing that when Dick became ill he became a patient in the hospital he and Jan had been volunteering at for years. They were both surrounded by familiar faces and a caring environment that knew them both personally.

Dick was preceded in death by his parents Leo and Myrtle Sponseller and both his brothers Herb Sponseller and Eugene Sponseller.