Joseph L. (Joe) Spiroff passed away Tuesday, January 25, 2011, Helena, having coped with Lewy Body\/Parkinson\u2019s disease for many years.<\/p>\n
Joe was born March 18, 1922 at Roy, Montana to Nick and Anna Spiroff. He attended country grade school, graduated from Roy High School and attended Montana State College (Bozeman). Joe enlisted in the Army Air Force September 1942 and served with the 467th Squadron of the 8th Air Force stationed at Rockheath, England. He flew 35 missions as a nose-gunner on B-24s over Europe. He was awarded the Air Medal with 5 Oak Leaf Clusters, 4 Battle Stars, and his crew received a Presidential Citation for distinguished service. One plane he flew on lost an engine and landed safely (with a full bomb load) in Belgium where the Underground rescued the crew and returned them safely to England.<\/p>\n
Joe was discharged October 1945, and returned to Montana. He was employed by Montana Physicians Service \u2013Blue Shield where he was much revered by his associates for his work ethic. He retired as Vice President of Underwriting after nearly 38 years of service. Joe served on numerous regional and national health care committees.<\/p>\n
At Emma Clark\u2019s Boarding House in the late 40\u2019s, Joe met his wife, Katie. They married May 4, 1952 and lived on Knight Street on the west side of Helena for 50 years with the last few years spent at the Waterford Retirement Facility. This move accommodated his advancing Parkinson\u2019s disease. Prior to this, they had enjoyed extensive travels and several cruises.<\/p>\n
Joe was a member of First Presbyterian Church in Helena, where he had served as an elder, a deacon and on numerous committees. He was a member of Masonic Lodge AF & AM #3; as an Intermountain (Children\u2019s Home) board member for several years; and actively served the United Way, receiving the Outstanding Volunteer Award. The school PTA and Boys Scouts were included in his service as well as the RSVP (Retired Senior Volunteer Program). In retirement, Joe read extensively, worked crossword puzzles and learned to play the organ for personal enjoyment. He followed a regular exercise program and enjoyed coffee afterward with his friends (\u201cthe Hardee Bunch\u201d!)<\/p>\n
Joe is survived by his wife, Catherine (Katie) of nearly 59 years of marriage; son, Mark (Denise) of Colorado; daughter, Linda (Doug) Graham of Helena; grandchildren, Brian of Helena, Nick of Colorado, Kelli (Jeff) Hoffman; and great grandson, Samuel Joseph Hoffman of Missoula. Also surviving are brother, Ray (Mary Jane) of Helena; sisters, Margaret (Jay) Benes of Lewistown, Montana and Mary Kirstein of Florida, plus numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by parents, Nick and Anna; brother, Nick, and sister, Katharine.<\/p>\n
Memorial services will be held at First Presbyterian Church on Friday, February 4th at 11:00 a.m. o\u2019clock with Rev. Jim Fiedler officiating. Burial will be at the Montana State Veterans Cemetery, Fort Harrison.<\/p>\n
In lieu of flowers, the Family suggests memorials to Intermountain (Children\u2019s Home), 500 S. Lamborn, Helena, MT 59601; First Presbyterian Church, 535 N. Ewing, Helena, MT 59601 or Parkinson Disease Research, %Giles Walker, 4355 Pay Dirt Dr., Helena, MT 59602 or charity of their choice. Condolences may be sent to the family by visiting www.aswfuneralhome.com.<\/p>\n","photo":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/309305_profile_pic.jpg","youtube_video_url":"","family_email":"","family_first_name":"","family_last_name":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/case\/751","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/case"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/case"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=751"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=751"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}