Obituary of Donald L. Spilka

With great sadness we announce the peaceful passing of Donald L. Spilka on November 7, 2023, at Middlesex Hospital where he was surrounded by his loving family. The devoted and loving husband to Jean Roselli Spilka who predeceased him in 2016, Don was a loving son, husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather, uncle, brother in-law, and friend to all. He was the son of the late Mary and Louis Spilka and brother of Joanna Spilka.

Donald was born in New Britain, CT where he grew up and attended New Britain schools. He married his high school sweetheart Jean and they lived most of their life in Kensington. He attended Hillyer College, (University of Hartford) and taught night school at EC Goodwin Technical School. He spent most of his career in the Engineering field at Pratt & Whitney. Don was most proud to have worked on the Peter Mellon Art Center at Choate Rosemary Hall, the Federal office building, and YWCA in Hartford. He was also the program manager for construction & renovation at Pratt facilities in Columbus Georgia and North Berwick Maine.

Don loved music and playing the saxophone. He started The Don Lewis Trio band. They were a regular at The Waverly Inn in Cheshire. After retirement from Pratt, Don bought Norpaco Inc. where he and his son Dean grew the food manufacturing business to its current size and location in Middletown. He was extremely proud of the signature product, the Stuffed Cherry Pepper. He was a parishioner of St. Paul Church, Kensington, CT, past president of ASHRAE, (American Society of Heating Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers) and a member of the Elks Club 957. Don was a strong, proud man who loved his family deeply and took care of everyone. He loved music, eating, the casino, the New York Giants and shopping at Costco!

Don was the loving father and father-in-law to Donna & Stephen Stachelek of Middlefield, Dean & Kate Spilka of Berlin, & Daniel & Julie Spilka of Medway, MA. He leaves his seven grandchildren: Jonathan & Elyse Stachelek, James Stachelek, Sam, Jack & Trent Spilka, and Hailey & Connor Spilka; and his two great grandsons Brayden and Benjamin Stachelek; and his sister in-law Angela Gwara. The family is extremely grateful to Middlesex Hospital and Covenant Living of Cromwell for the excellent care and love they extended to Don. Don was loved by all and will be so deeply missed.

Friends may call at Farrell Funeral Home 110 Franklin Square, New Britain, on Friday November 10 from 5:00-7:00PM. The New Britain Elks 957 will hold their ritual at 6:00 PM. Funeral services will be on Saturday at 9AM at the funeral home followed a Mass of Christian Burial at 10AM at St. Paul’s Catholic Church, 485 Alling Street, Berlin. Burial will follow at St. Mary’s Cemetery, New Britain.

In lieu of flowers and in honor of Don’s love of music, memorial donations may be made by check to The Donald Spilka Memorial Music Fund and sent to Berlin High School, 139 Patterson Way, Berlin CT 06037 ATTN: Tyler Boyle.