Obituary: Reinhard L.E. Spies

Reinhard Ludwig Ernst Spies, 81, died Oct. 5, 2010, in Bigfork from heart failure.

He was born April 16, 1929, to Elfrieda and Max Spies in Hamburg, Germany. He immigrated to Montreal, Canada, in 1954 on a converted wine tanker. Along with one other passenger, he paid for his journey by painting the ship during the 21-day voyage.

Obtaining his U.S. visa in 1956, sponsored by his uncle in Minnesota, he joined Bank of America in its international department in San Francisco.

Reinhard became a U.S. citizen in 1961 and married his wife, Barbara Wilson, daughter of Rip Wilson, longtime resident of Kalispell and Bigfork.

The couple was transferred to Duesseldorf, Germany, in 1964 and then to Vienna, Austria, in 1965.

They adopted two baby boys during the six years in Vienna and then returned to the United States in 1971 for one year before moves to Chicago, Sydney, Australia, Cleveland and New York City.

Although he and his family lived the world over, they always considered Bigfork a home base, spending almost every summer at the Wilson residence on the Flathead until taking up permanent residence in Bigfork when Reinhard retired in 1992.

Reinhard was an avid bridge player, a great dancer and stamp collector and enjoyed teaching cribbage to fourth graders. He even acted with the Bigfork Community Players once or twice. He loved boating on Flathead Lake, watching tennis and the stock market.

Reinhard is survived by his wife, Barbara; sons, Stefan and Marc; daughter-in-law, Jennifer, and grandson, Max.

No service will be held. The family plans a celebration of his life next summer.

In lieu of flowers, anyone wishing to donate to the Bigfork library fund in Reinhard’s behalf would be appreciated.