Wilbur F. Spangler
September 11, 1919 - September 26, 2018

Wilbur Franklin Spangler of Fort Lauderdale, FL passed away peacefully on September 26, 2018 at the age of 99.

Wilbur was born in Pittsburgh, PA and grew up in the Northside on Perrysville Ave. Wilbur always had a strong work ethic and began selling Ladies Home Journal Magazines door to door as a young boy. He graduated McNaugher Primary & Secondary School and attended Perry High School. He later worked at Hidenreick Drug Store in Pittsburgh where he worked the soda fountain and was a sales clerk.

Wilbur was drafted by the Army on April 20, 1942. He originally trained as an MP and was stationed in Fort Meade, MD for a short time before his entire outfit was transferred down to Moultrieville, SC where he was told he would now train as a DUKW driver for the newly formed 453rd Amphibian Truck Company. They trained for several months before shipping over to England on September 4, 1943, just a few days before his 24th birthday, where they trained for the next several months for the invasion of Europe. On June 6, 1944, D-Day, Wilbur drove his DUKW off the ramp of an LST roughly 12 miles from the Normandy coast and landed with the first assault wave on Omaha Beach. His mission was to provide supplies and ammunition for the incoming troops. The 453rd stayed in Normandy for the next couple of months where they worked to offload the supply ships until secure ports were finally established. They then continued to follow the advancing front through the liberation of Paris, Reims, Chalons, Verdun, and into Luxembourg and Belgium for the Battle of the Bulge. From there, they moved into Germany where Wilbur worked for 18 hours nonstop carrying combat troops with 89th Infantry Division across the Rhine River at Oberwesel while under enemy fire. During one of these trips he even managed to save the life of a soldier after the raft he was crossing in sank. They then continued to follow the advance through Germany passing near Numberg, Regensburg, and Passau. At the Danube river Wilbur transported troops from the 75th Infantry Division. He was just inside the Czech border at the war's end. The 453rd Amphibian Truck Company was awarded the Croix de Guerre with Palm for their role in D-Day and Wilbur received bronze service stars for the Normandy, Northern France, Ardennes, Rhineland, and Central Europe campaigns. Wilbur was proud of his DUKWs but one of his proudest moments was in 2013 when the French government awarded him the highest honor a French citizen or foreign national can receive, the French Legion of Honor.

After the war, Wilbur moved to Baltimore, MD in 1946 where he joined the IBEW and remained a loyal member for 72 years. He started his career with the Claude Neon Sign Company. Sometime around 1955, Wilbur moved down to S. Florida still working for Claude Neon. He helped to put up the first Burger King sign in Miami, along with the signs on the newly constructed Fountain Blue and Eden Rock hotels. Wilbur also installed the original neon sign on the Georgia Pig restaurant in Fort Lauderdale where he stilled enjoyed eating at until the end. Wilbur later became an outside electrician with the IBEW Local 728. While working through the union he installed transmission towers across the Everglades and many power poles and street lights through out Broward county until his retirement in 1984.

It was while still in the sign business that Wilbur met the love of his life, Jane Neal, at a spaghetti dinner at Myrtle Grove Elementary School where Jane taught 2rd grade. It was love at first sight and Wilbur & Jane married on August 20, 1959 and remained inseparable until Jane's passing in 2010. Jane later taught at Broward Elementary before transferring to Oriole Elementary where she taught kindergarten until her retirement in 1995. Wilbur and Jane first lived in Hollywood, FL until their house in Fort Lauderdale was built and lived there for the remainder of their lives. They raised their three boys, Neal, Terry, and Wayne together in this house and filled their lives with love and adventures. Wilbur and Jane were always active in their boys lives, taking them to pick vegetables in the corn fields of Plantation or tomatoes, potatoes, beans, cabbage, or strawberries in the fields of Homestead. You never knew what animals he would bring home that he found on one of his jobs, anything from snakes, to chickens and guinea hens, to turtles, or other creatures and when he came home from work he always had a special treat in his lunch box for his boys. Every Christmas he took great joy in setting up his American Flyer trains with his boys help. His platform would be so large that it took up half the living room, barely leaving enough room for a tree. Wilbur and Jane always provided for their sons even when money was short. They took them to many music lessons and were proud Boyd Anderson H.S. band parents, never missing a football game half-time show or concert their sons performed in. He taught his boys many skills and life values, to treat others with respect and kindness. To love, care for, and provide for family. To always be there for them and to keep God in their lives. He was fearless in whatever he did and set an example of what it is to be a true man.

Wilbur had many hobbies. He was an avid gardener growing a variety of vegetables together with his wife. He enjoyed helping Jane make jams, jellies and applesauce and canning and freezing the vegetables they picked together. Wilbur made his own sauerkraut using the same wooden kraut cutter handed down to him from his father. He enjoyed wood working and made several shelves, plate racks, and even a wagon for his boys. Wilbur and Jane also enjoyed crafts, one of their favorites was the clowns they made out of yarn. Wilbur was also known for his famous eggnog and pecan pies which he loved to give to family and friends every Christmas. Wilbur and Jane loved traveling. Every summer they would pack up the van Wilbur custom built into a camper by himself and travel with his family up to Louisville, KY and Pittsburgh, PA to visit relatives, with many fun stops at campgrounds along the way. Later they enjoyed traveling to their timeshare in Puerto Vallarta, MX every year. They journeyed together throughout Europe, to Costa Rica, and across the USA in their retirement. Wilbur also returned with Jane and their sons to the shores of Normandy for the 50th and 60th anniversaries of D-Day.

After Jane's passing, Wilbur continued traveling with his son Wayne. He returned to Normandy one last time, first stopping in Ireland for 10 days, in 2014 for the 70th anniversary of D-Day . He was accompanied by his sons, Wayne and Terry and grandchildren, Ben, Jeremy, and Carly. Wilbur enjoyed Ireland so much he returned with Wayne the following year for two weeks at the age of 95! Wilbur and Wayne also traveled to New Orleans, Branson MO, Washington DC, Virginia, Georgia, Louisville, and Pittsburgh the last few years. His final journey was in June 2018 to attend the 74th anniversary ceremonies at the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford, VA.

In his final years Wilbur was continually humbled by the appreciation he received for his role in WWII. He was a Guest of Honor at the US Southern Command Center in Doral, FL for the Army's 242nd Birthday in 2017. He celebrated his 98th Birthday at Fort Lauderdale airport amid a crowd people waiting for an Honor Flight to arrive and he enjoyed being invited to two South Florida Virtual Honor Flights. Wilbur's last honor was to be the Guest of Honor for the grand opening of a new Mission BBQ restaurant in Boynton Beach, FL where he cut the opening ribbon.

Wilbur was strong and happy to the end, enjoying his 99th Birthday with many family and friends only two weeks before his passing. Wilbur slipped into a coma during his sleep on September 26, 2018 and was surrounded by his boys, five grandchildren, and two daughter-in-laws upon his passing later that day. They all sang "An Irish Lullaby" to him before he passed. This is the song he sang to Jane every night at bedtime the last few years of her life.

Wilbur always had a smile and lit up the room wherever he went, you just couldn't help but to feel cheerful in his presence. He will be remembered for his kind caring heart, uplifting and inspirational spirit, welcoming lovable warm personality, indomitable courage & strength of soul, and strong work ethic. Those who knew him say he was soft spoken but direct and powerful with his words, he always listened and gave them his undivided attention. He always wanted to give to and help others and his zest for life made them feel anything was possible. Most of all, Wilbur will be remembered for his enduring love for his Sweetheart Forever, Jane. His last words and thoughts were for the love of his life, his dear wife, Jane.

Wilbur is preceded in death by his wife, Jane (Neal), father Harry J. Spangler who was a Methodist Preacher and the Yardmaster for B&O Railroad in Pittsburgh, mother, Bertha Mae (Bennington) Spangler, siblings Robert Jackson, Harry, Clyde, Edgar, Eleanor Snyder, and Chester. He is survived by his sons: Neal (wife Ana), Terry (wife Carolyn), and Wayne and grandchildren Benjamin, Jeremy, Carly, Isabella, and Gregory.

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