Earl ‘Cap’ Joseph Spitznagle’s final wish to ‘Go Home’ was fulfilled as he passed from this earth on November 18, 2019. Born on October 6, 1931, Earl was the 12th child of Edward and Katherine Spitznagle’s 16 children.
Earl graduated from Monitor High School in 1950 after holding the office of Class President for 4 years. He was drafted during the Korean War and served in the Marines. He retired from CSX Railroad in the 1980’s.
Earl was always happy to visit with family and friends whenever they would stop by, (as long as it was after 11am), dropping whatever he was doing. Attractions at ‘Uncle Earl’s’ were his sheep, peacocks, turkeys or his dog; fishing in the pond, or listening to him telling stories while sitting under his favorite English Walnut tree. He had several loyal dogs over the years.
In his early years he loved his motorcycles and would often give his nieces and nephews rides on his 3 wheel Harley. Driving was hard for him to give up. How would he get to Steak and Shake and the Downtowner?
Earl loved to find treasures others had discarded and kept quite a collection. If you needed something it could probably be found at ‘Earl’s Hardware’. He loved making a nice bonfire.
Earl was a faithful, dedicated Catholic. He was a long time member of St. Boniface Catholic Church and enjoyed attending St. Ann’s on occasion. He had a BIG heart, was generous and helped many in need. He had a great sense of humor, and a stubborn streak. You rarely saw him without his sock cap or a hat. His references to his ‘computer not working’ or ‘the Old Lady’ made you wonder if he was telling a fib or not.
Earl is survived by 2 sisters, Anna Rettig and Shirley Klinker. He is preceded in death by his parents, Sisters; Mary, Katherine, Dorothy, Gertrude, Patricia, Arlene, & Marjorie, Brothers; Leonard, Bernard, Francis, William, Merle, & Daniel. He had 57 nieces and nephews.
Per Earl’s request no funeral services are to be performed. A burial with graveside rites will be held Saturday, November 23, 2019 at 10 a.m. at St. Boniface Catholic Cemetery, Lafayette. Father Timothy Alkire to officiate. Clapper Funeral Services entrusted with his care.
A family reflection of Earl from his great nephew Roger Ness
I think the best way to start off my message is introducing myself, as the family and Earl’s fan club is so big virtually and beyond. I’m Gertrude Spitznagle’s grandson, Earl’s sister who passed away in 1998 and Earl is my Great Uncle.
When I take time to reflect about the memories I’ve shared with Earl from a child now to a young adult, I can’t help but smile with every memory. When I first started visiting “Paradise” as a kid to fish, sometimes everyday for a long while it was like a field trip. You got to see animals, meet the most intelligent dogs, and be blessed just by being at a place that can bring anybody to peace just walking around and learning about life at the same time with something Earl said that would hold long lasting value.
I remember as times progressed as I got older, my ratio of visiting Paradise was a 50/50 split of learning about how to approach life through the lens of Earl, while also enjoying the accolades of catching big fish and playing with a variety of dogs. These dogs were taught and learned how to climb ladders (Beaver), they were always gracious, just as Earl minus Ralph the turkey-who could be perceived as sometimes just as ornery as Earl at times. Where 99 percent of the people see no value in an item, Earl would treat everything as valuable and certainly find it. Every animal had a name, every animal had a story, when Earl spoke, they listened, when Earl spoke, I listened because the message was always valuable and lasting. If you went to visit Earl and he wasn’t there, there was a level of disappointment, but you always knew he was either at Church, visiting a family member, making his rounds of collection, or stopping at Steak and Shake to get fries with cheese.
During my visits when Earl was roaming around Paradise, he was never sitting down, unless it was on his custom mower, or to chat and tell you how thankful he is that you visited. He was always working outside regardless of the weather, staying busy, and as the most popular guy in town, balancing his schedule to make time for the unexpected visitors that would stop in around his daily go do’s.
As most can relate, Earl has been talking about “going home” for what feels like fifteen or more years. He never lost his sense of humor, his faith, and ability to make you laugh and smile. I learned more valuable things about life from Earl, the family history, and how not only the big things matter, everything matters and has meaning than just about anybody.
As I moved away, and got to go back home to visit, seeing Uncle Earl was always on the itinerary. Through this last year I was lucky enough to spend several times with Earl that I’ll always cherish. When you visited with Earl in the nursing home, the very first thing he had you do was document your visit on the sign in sheet, followed by offering you just one of his favorite pieces of chocolate. As his memory started to struggle, he always seemed to have everything come around and wanted you to write it down because it was important, and if he didn’t remember at that point, he wanted to remember later. “Oh, I’m so glad you stopped by”, really, at the end of the day, for me and all of us, it was “I’m so glad you’re here, Earl”. You taught me a lot Earl and you will be greatly missed by many, but your message and how you lived and expressed your life spiritually and beyond will be with us forever.
