Eleanore Frances Spooner (Spoor)

It is with great sadness that we share the loss of our beloved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and aunt, Eleanore Frances Spooner (Wasilewski) (Spoor). She blessed us with 97 years of her dimpled smile and passed away on July 27, 2015, at Golden Living Home in Attleboro, Massachusetts, after a continued decline in health. Eleanore is survived by her only remaining child, Larry Spoor (Julieanne) of Denton, Texas, and daughter-in-law, Mary Spoor of Gary, Indiana. She is also survived by her grandchildren, Roger Reading (Lorie) of North Judson, Indiana, Robert Spoor (Jean) of Groton, Connecticut, Daniel Spoor (Sunshine) of Las Vegas, Nevada, Kevin Spoor (Linda) of Rye, Colorado, Troy Spoor of Stinesville, Indiana, Dr. Erich Spoor of Phoenix, Arizona, and Alexandra Schreiber (Jason) of Denton, Texas. In addition, she is survived by fourteen great-grandchildren, three great-great grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews. We are forever grateful for her dear friends, Carol Bouthillier and Cheryl Kenney, who watched over and cared for her during her later years. Eleanore arrived on this Earth in Chicago, Illinois, on April 11, 1918, the middle of five children born to Leo and Antoinette (Kutca) Wasilewski. Her father, a carpenter by trade, moved the family from the familiarity of the city to the unknown challenges of farming life in Knox, Indiana. A kind, life-long farmer across the street, Earl Ernest Spoor, taught her father how to drive the horse-drawn plow. After many trips into town for provisions, Eleanore and Earl fell in love and eloped on June 21, 1941. They settled into the Spoor homestead where Earl was raising his two young sons, Bob and Lewis. Four more children were added to the family, Beverly, Sidney, Larry, and Johnny. Due to hearing loss in early childhood, Eleanore was homeschooled by her mother in lieu of attending public school with her siblings. In her late teens, her parents sent her to the Indiana School for the Deaf in Indianapolis where she discovered her love for writing and learned to sign and play sports. Later, her husband bought her first hearing aid so that she could hear their new baby daughter cry while he was out working on the farm. She would often marvel at the wonder of hearing everyday sounds for the first time, such as the sound of a match being struck. After Earl's death in 1966, Eleanore became a published writer and moved to Attleboro, Mass. She also worked in housekeeping and at the American Auto Auction as a title file clerk; a job she proudly held until she was 93. Eleanore loved to write for magazines and looked forward to receiving her mail everyday so that she could correspond with her many pen pals. Her daily journal writing filled many books throughout the years. She was an indomitable competitor at Scrabble, Skip Bo, and any board game. Gardening, collecting recipes, and amassing a huge collection of elephant figurines were passions of hers. Her grandchildren remember her love for Vidalia onion and butter sandwiches, salmon loaf, challenging word puzzles, and cats. Eleanore was overjoyed when she could walk barefoot on the beach or travel to Foxwoods Casino to play the slot machines for hours on end. Two vacations in Hawaii and yearly trips to visit family in Indiana were some of her fondest memories. She is preceded in death by her parents, siblings: Elsie, Mildred, George, and Leonard, stepsons, Robert and Lewis Spoor, daughter and son-in-law, Beverly (Spoor) and James Reading, son, Sidney Spoor, and infant son, Johnny Spoor. Per Eleanore's wishes, graveside services will be held at a later date at the Spoor family plot in Round Lake Cemetery, Knox, Indiana. In lieu of flowers, please enjoy a dinner at Eleanore's favorite restaurant, Morin's Diner, in Attleboro. You could also honor her by stopping for an afternoon coffee at Dunkin Donuts in North Attleboro; where she and her dear friend would go every afternoon when she was well. For additional information or to send the family a written expression of sympathy, please visit an online guest book at www.dyer-lakefuneralhome.com . Arrangements are under the direction of the Dyer-Lake Funeral Home, 161 Commonwealth Avenue, Village of Attleboro Falls, North Attleboro, Massachusetts. (508) 695-0200.