My Uncle Jim passed away on March 21, 2014 in Columbia, MO. My Aunt Audrey asked me to speak at his memorial service on behalf of the family. Here is the eulogy that I delivered on March 29 at the Broadway Christian Church in Columbia, MO.
Good morning, everyone. I am Charla Gabert, a niece of Audrey and Jim Spieler.
I am very touched and honored to speak to you today. To write this tribute, I contacted family members and invited them to share their stories and memories to offer this portrait of our Uncle Jim.
Jim’s older brother Dick Spieler shared a favorite story about Jim. When they were kids, they often visited their Aunt Marie and Aunt Edna in St. Louis. Aunt Edna’s gentleman friend Harry would always give the boys, along with their cousin Bob Spieler, a one-dollar bill. That was a lot of money in those days. One time Harry gave a dollar to Dick, then one to Bob, but when he got to Jim, Jim said, “Oh, no thanks, Harry. I’ve got plenty of money.” According to Dick, Jim probably had about 30 cents in his pocket.
Jim’s sister Marcie, my mother, remembers that when Jim wanted a new bike, his dad asked him, “Do you have the money?” Jim answered, “Well, no, but I can write a check.”
My mother says her brother Jim showed a love and appreciation for nature and the outdoors as a child. He could often be found with frogs or snakes in his pockets, ready to torment the girls, and, of course, he enjoyed fishing at an early age.
My mother recalled that Jim was a caring, sensitive, and thoughtful brother and was always very helpful to her. For example, when our family moved to Memphis from Columbia, Uncle Jim drove the U Haul truck down and back, to save on the surcharge. Aunt Audie came down separately to help us unpack, which my mother so appreciated.
When my mom turned 60, Jim and Audie gave her a gift certificate for a hot air balloon ride. She was very surprised and pleased because she’d only mentioned her desire to do this once in conversation, but Uncle Jim heard it and remembered.
Betty Spieler, the wife of cousin Bob Spieler, remembers and appreciates how Jim would regularly check in on Bob during the last years of his life. Jim would call on the phone, and his first words were always the same, “This is Cousin Jim.”
Jim was a very important person in the lives of the next generation because he was always involved and attentive to us. His niece Dana remembers being at the funeral of her grandfather “Paw Paw” when she was in fifth grade. She was crying uncontrollably, and Uncle Jim came over, hugged her, and consoled her.
Dana also recalls how she once visited her cousin Janet in Kansas City, and Uncle Jim came by and took them driving in a rented convertible. Jim was often in Kansas City on business and frequently took Janet and her girlfriends to Howard Johnson’s for ice cream in a convertible. He put the top down and turned the music up as they drove.
One time they were listening to the Beach Boys, and Jim said, “In five years you’ll never even remember them.” Janet, who was 12 or 13 at the time and loved the Beach Boys, said, “Oh, yes I will!” As we all know, despite Uncle Jim’s prediction, the Beach Boys went on to lasting fame. For years after that any time Jim saw Janet, he would always ask, “Do you remember the Beach Boys?”
One day many years later, after Janet was married and had kids, Jim called and said, “I hear the Beach Boys are going to be at the Missouri State Fair. The least I can do is take you there.” So Jim bought tickets for a handful of family members to see the Beach Boys. Everyone had a great time. Janet loves that Jim kept the joke going all those years; it made her feel special. She remembers Jim as a very sensitive person, thoughtful, caring, and warm, with a love of life.
Jim’s nephew, Kim Spieler, recalls that Uncle Jim was always very interested in Kim’s kids, Abby and Aaron. Jim came to watch many of Abby’s high school basketball games in California, driving 45 minutes each way at night. When Aaron’s daughter Ella was born, Uncle Jim was one of the first to call and offer congratulations.
I remember Uncle Jim as somebody who I could count on and depend on for anything. My younger sister Cherie remembers Uncle Jim as very sweet, patient, and always smiling. We both remember all the things he taught us and how he was like a surrogate father to us.
Uncle Jim taught us to paddle a canoe, shoot pool, and throw darts. Jim and Audie bought us our first tennis rackets and taught us to play. They taught us to set up their red tent and decided we were brave enough to spend the night in it in their wooded backyard.
I remember Uncle Jim teaching me to dive. He sat patiently at the pool’s edge and held out a broomstick that I had to dive over. He raised it slowly an inch at a time until I was leaping up and over in perfect form.
Naturally, he taught my sister and me to fish. He was adamant that we girls learn how to bait the hook ourselves, using worms or grasshoppers, and how to take the fish off the hook with pliers.
One fishing story I remember was when he took me fishing by myself and it started to rain. I assumed we would pack up and go home, but Uncle Jim’s face lit up with a big grin. He said, “Nooooo, this is when the fish really start biting!”
My sister Cherie says Uncle Jim was an excellent water skier and a great dancer, especially of the jitterbug. He and Aunt Audie always danced at special events, as well as in the basement rec room at their house in the Woodridge subdivision and at their Danforth Drive house.
My sister and I both recall spending a week in the summers with Jim and Audie. We called it Camp Woodridge after the subdivision. We made a chart where we got points for good behaviors and demerits for bad ones. When we had enough good points, we got to go swimming. When we had too many demerits, well, we got to do the dishes.
One summer we had a fun family trip with Jim and Audie, Rusty and Leslie to Destin, Florida. Uncle Jim bought crabbing nets and took us crabbing off a pier. The following year our families spent a wonderful week together on an island in Lake Michigan, where we fished off the dock and Uncle Jim showed us how to sail.
When I graduated from high school, Uncle Jim took two of my friends and me on a float trip as a gift. Unfortunately, my canoe flipped soon after we started. Uncle Jim threw out his back rescuing us, we lost vital gear including the red tent, and we had to call Aunt Audie to come get us. Nevertheless, I remember that trip fondly as a thoughtful gift from my uncle.
My sister’s daughter Megan McConachie works at the Columbia Convention & Visitor Bureau. She had this to say about her great-uncle: “I will remember Uncle Jim as a truly kind and thoughtful man, which I believe is so rare. He was genuinely interested in how things were going with you. He always asked how things were going at the CVB. I remember him saying we had a group of ‘good gals’ working there. I’m so proud to be part of the Columbia tourism industry and part of the CVB that he helped to establish.”
Finally, one other memory our whole family shares is how Jim and Audie for many years organized a Spieler get-together right after Christmas. It was like a family reunion. They hosted it at their house or at the Stone Hill Winery in Hermann. Uncle Jim liked to call it “Weinnacht” in honor of the Spieler’s German heritage. This was a perfect example of how Uncle Jim enjoyed his family and liked to get us all together to celebrate.
Today we are gathered together to celebrate his life. Our family will miss him greatly, but we still have him with us in our hearts and minds. We have all these wonderful memories. We have the loving gifts he gave us: his time, attention, thoughtfulness, sense of humor, and love of life. And, of course, his love of fishing.
