Name: Kurt Albert Spindler



Life Dates: 6/22/1911 - 5/7/2008



City Of Birth: Jena, Germany



Pre-deceased by

Wives, Lillian L.(Bulmah)Spindler and Olive Ruth(Schulz)Spindler.



Survived by

Children, William A. (Frances) Spindler, Paul K. (Maureen) Spindler, Christa M. (Michael) Leman; grandchildren, Kurt (Christina), Keith, Korana (Wayne) Kelly, Sarah, Rebecca, Stephen Spindler, Elizabeth , Benjamin Leman; great-grandchildren, Michael, Mikayla, Tyler, Trevor Spindler, Denver, Willa Kelly; in-laws Ida Saucke and Bernice Schulz.



History

He was the youngest of seven children who survived childbirth, his father a house painter. At the completion of the 8th grade, as is the custom even today in Germany , he chose his career path - plumbing (in the days of lead pipes). He began learning the trade, became what we'd call an apprentice, and earned his certificate, declaring him to be a qualified plumber. Post-war Germany , under the weak Weimar Republic , and the crushing load of reparations under the Treaty of Versailles, was hardly the land of opportunity. Some of his school chums had gone to America , and wrote glowing reports back. So, at 18 years old, he set off for Hamburg , to sail for America. His mother knew he'd catch one look at the ship, and run home again. When she received his post- card from New York, she was so heart-broken that she was bed-ridden for a week. He would never see his father again, nor two brothers who were casualties of World War II. He saw his mother only once more, shortly before her death, taking a trip at his siblings' strong urging in 1962 to communist East Germany. Thanks to communism, we never met our grandmother. He arrived in America in 1929, not our best year economically. He was unable to join the union in order to practice his plumbing trade. Rather than being forced to return to Germany, he decided to accept an offer through a friend to work at a local German company - Bausch and Lomb, where he would work for 45 years. After being handed his first pay envelope, he happily went outside for lunch with his friends. He laid down his envelope (they were paid in cash) on his friend`s car, who then drove away with his pay laying on the fender. Despite running after the car and shouting, he failed to stop the car. He never got to spend his first pay. He often spoke highly of his first boss, Mr. Heinige, from his hometown - a demanding but fair man who had worked for Zeiss Optical Co. He carefully taught willing workers the optics trade. Kurt worked hard, learned optics well, and was promoted and trusted, eventually with some of the most demanding tolerances technically possible even to measure in his day. He polished flat surfaces to flatness of ¼ of a wavelength of orange-yellow light, and angles of within a few seconds (1/360 of a degree). At the depths of the Great Depression, BL went around and asked the single workers how much they needed to earn to get by, so the family men could have more hours. Dad said that living with a family and doing their chores, he just needed between half a day to a day each week - enough to buy a beer at the German House on Friday night. By spreading the work around, they maintained a trained workforce, ready to gear up for World War II. You'd never see such Corporate behavior today. It was a different time, and the loyalty in old Rochester industry went both ways, especially among the Germans in old Bausch and Lomb. His skill is why parts he made are farther from the earth than any other man-made objects. Bausch Lomb was renowned in the 1960's and 70's for making the finest Spectrometers in the world, because they built a remarkable machine to cut the extremely precise, fine grooves in the flat gold surface which produced the rainbow effect by diffracting light into its spectrum, allowing identification of which elements produced the light it was measuring. It cut up to 185,000 precise grooves per millimeter, the best available. It sat in a room floating on air and climate controlled to very precise temperatures, inside another tightly controlled room, also floating on air, atop solid bedrock in the 4th sub-basement of Bausch's St. Paul St. factory. Both Kurt and Paul received tours of this amazing facility. In order to cut these precise grooves, a precisely cut diamond was moved extremely precisely along an extremely flat surface of pure gold. It had to be perfectly flat, and Dad was the man who polished it flat enough to work. These world-class spectrometers were on-board the NASA spacecraft of the 1960's and 70's, including Pioneer 10 and 11 and Voyager 1 and 2. The Voyager spacecraft will be the third and fourth human spacecraft to fly beyond all the planets in our solar system. Pioneers 10 and 11 preceded Voyager in outstripping the gravitational attraction of the Sun but on February 17, 1998, Voyager 1 passed Pioneer 10 to become the most distant human-made object in space. The German House on Gregory St. would be a key social center of his life until the 1970's. Out of the hundreds of members of the Teutonia Liedertafel, a German-American singing society, Kurt's baritone voice performed as part of many concerts, in Rochester, western New York, the Northeast United States and Canada. Their trophy case (destroyed by a fire in the basement of the German House in the early 1970's) demonstrated their excellence. They were often joined by vocal students from the Eastman School of Music, including a young William Warfield. I never remember his skin color being mentioned; just his amazing voice. With the drop in immigration from Germany and changing customs, this and most other local German-American singing societies, including the Liederkranz Club and the Schwaben Verein, faded away; Kurt was one of the last surviving Teutonia members. World War II saw a dramatic change in American industry, and sharing hours to get by turned into working all the hours you could manage, for the war effort. Kurt's optical skills were deemed so important that he was given a deferment from military service so he could work on instruments of war, mostly for the Navy, including range finders used to aim the mighty guns on American warships. Rochester was a key part of the high technology military devices of the day. The Nazi plans for a sub-orbital bomber targeted 8 priority cities, including Rochester-- primarily because of Kodak film, and the precision optical instruments, including the remarkable Norden Bomb- sight, co-produced by Bausch Lomb's optics, assembled to a pneumatic computer made by Taylor Instruments (in the building where Paul would later work). In 1941, Kurt married the former Lillian Bulmahn, and in 1946, William was born. Their happy home on Strathmore Drive would be saddened by the news of the death of two of Kurt's brothers - one who never returned from the Russian front, the other killed by Patton's Army as he defended his hometown. Then, Lillian was found to have cancer, and Kurt was left a single father of a young son. Also, the period after the allied victory in Europe saw widespread starvation in the conquered lands, especially those under Soviet control. During those years, Kurt spent a major portion of his income sending food packages to his family, and literally kept them alive, until their economy was rebuilt (a slow process under the communist East German dictatorship). When Kurt traveled back to Germany in later years, he was treated like a king. Their gratitude was boundless. The hardworking widower met a young daughter of German immigrants, who enjoyed choral music and thus joined the Teutonia - Olive Schulz, one of seven children . They were married 0n January 20, 1951, and had their reception at the German House. They bore Paul in 1952 and Christa in 1955. In 1954, they moved to a new house, at 11 Duffern Drive . The house payments and the desire for the American Dream led Kurt to take a second job, working in a small optical shop for a former Bausch Lomb supervisor, William Schutte. With one car in the family, this would see Kurt leaving for work by carpool at 6 AM, work 7 AM until 3:30, then walk to Schutte's in an old building along the river, surrounded by the Genesee Brewery property. Olive would bundle the kids into the car to pick up Kurt at around 8:30, then it was home; off to bed for the kids, and a warmed-up supper (pre-microwave oven) for Kurt. Kurt and Olive decided that this house, nice as it was, was just too expensive, so they looked for an older, more affordable house. Thus, we moved to the current homestead, 501 Oakwood Rd., in September, 1960. Kurt continued to work at Schutte's until it closed, at which time, Kurt began a long, legendary tenure as sexton at the family spiritual home, Hope Lutheran Church. Although he worked so many hours, he never failed to attend his children's concerts, parent-teacher conferences, and other family events. He continued his diligent cleaning and room setup at Hope until the early 1990's. The Hope youth he supervised, as head sexton, include son Paul, and current Associate Pastor, Kirk Dueker. At 80 years old, he found he could not carry tables around the new Vintage Lane building well enough anymore. He was embarrassed by the honor paid him at the annual church dinner that year. Now, his son, Bill, succeeds his father as the current Head Sexton at Hope Church. Following in their parents' footsteps, both Paul and Christa joined a German-American youth choir, and Kurt managed to pay for each of them to go to Europe while each was in High School. During this trip, Paul was able to meet, for the only time, his Aunt Trude, who traveled from East Germany to see him. In later years, Christa's job allowed her to meet all her German family, and in 1994, Paul's work led him to a Kodak conference in France and England, and his whole family accompanied him. After this, they flew to Germany to meet Kurt and be joined by Christa, and for a glorious few days, most of the German family was together. Paul was especially touched to stand in Kurt's boyhood bedroom, see the church in which he was baptized and confirmed, view his grandparent's graves, to put faces to the names he had heard in translated letters, and to feel his heritage in Jena. A diligent, faithful letter writer, he kept in touch with his German family his whole life. When Bill was drafted and sent to Vietnam at the height of the war, at a time when 500 American deaths a week were common, he made sure that Bill got a letter from home on nearly every mail call, and urged the rest of us to write as well. His joy was seldom greater than when hearing Bill's voice on the phone, returned to America after his tour of duty was done. Kurt decided to retire from Bausch Lomb in the early 1970's, after 45 years of service. He did not want a retirement dinner (are you surprised?). At his retirement gathering at work on his last day, his supervision revealed to him that for many years, they had quietly arranged that his work would not be inspected by their Quality Control department. It seems that they found that Kurt's work was never rejected - he would not let it go until it was just right, but the pieces were often ruined by the inspectors. And, given the often astronomical value of the items he made, they could no longer risk inspecting them. This level of trust is un-heard-of in manufacturing. In "retirement", besides working at Church, he busied himself around the house, drove his older friends around as they needed, and he became interested in making stained glass, as one of the members of Linda Spross' class at church. He was one of the makers of the round stained glass window in the back of the balcony of the Hope Church Vintage Lane sanctuary. He built the stained glass inserts for the cabinet doors of Paul Maureen's new kitchen. And, he faithfully attended most of the events with the Hope Church Golden Agers, recently renamed the Circle of Friends. Until he reluctantly gave up driving a year ago, he would provide rides to those who could not drive themselves. He was finally convinced by his doctor to give up driving, though he did sneak out to Wegman's a couple times, "just for a few minutes, to pick up something quick". The early 1990's saw Olive develop stomach problems, which was eventually diagnosed as advanced Ovarian Cancer. Kurt was there, supporting and taking on larger roles as she faded. When she lost her fight, he said good- bye in 1994, on a cold, wet, gray November day. He went on, and with characteristic gusto, learned to cook for himself, and renewed his efforts to serve those around him. He worked hard helping paint the walls on Paul's addition to his house, visited Christa's family often in Virginia , and volunteered at church, among the volunteers who stuff envelopes and assemble bulletins. He continued diligently in this role until he broke his hip in March. His grand-daughter, Korana, her husband, Wayne, and eventually their daughters moved in to occupy his upper floor. This was a god-send to all involved. The love and support they gave each other was awesome to see. They brought love, meaning and safety to his last years, and he gave them a place to live where they were loved and appreciated, in an affordable arrangement that God blessed us all with. Kurt would not have been able to remain in his house to the end without them. And, the relationship between Denver and Willa with their "Great-Papa" was awesome. They were the light of each other's days. It will be left to them, now, to continue the heritage within those beloved walls at 501 Oakwood Rd. But, the relationship most important to Kurt was not his job, he friends, his house, or even his family. It was his faith and his close relationship with God. His family worshiped God as he grew up, he worshiped in America , first at Salem United Church of Christ, and then, starting in the 1940's, at Hope Lutheran Church . He married Olive in their old, original white church, Paul was the first baby baptized in the newer sanctuary, and he remained one of the longest tenured members until the time, this week, he switched his membership to his ultimate house of worship. He was quiet, but devoted in his faith. His cards and letters were full of prayers and wishes for God's blessings, and it will not be until our time to join him in Heaven that we will know how many of his prayers covered all of us who knew him. His Bible was well worn and obviously, from the condition of the book and the condition of his life, well-read. He would often tell Paul that he prayed every day for his job situation or his health, and each of his family has similar stories to tell. But it was not just that he taught us all how a Christian lives. This week, he taught us also how a Christian dies. As Paul wrote earlier this week, in an email; "Dad perked up several times and expressed how blessed he felt, how much he loved us all, and several times told us `bye-bye`." Both pastors visited on several occasions. They marveled at his legacy; everyone in the room was a committed Christian, who knows that we`ll see Dad again, commenting that when that is true, these things are so much easier - not easy, just easier. At one lucid time, Pastor Larry got close to him, and beautifully reviewed what dad already knew about the Gospel - that we are all fallen, lost sinners, but that by His death and resurrection, Jesus offers us eternal life by forgiving all our sins, taking them on Himself in our place, He reminded him that we only need to repent from our ungodly ways and accept this free offer. Pastor Larry reminded Dad that he had often expressed this belief, and then Pastor Larry prayed beautifully for Dad and for us. At the end, there was one loud, firm, resounding "AMEN" proclaimed - it was from Dad. Wow! And in another: "We received the phone call after 4 this morning that Dad had gone Home. He had said, on several occasions, that he hoped to die in his sleep, and God granted him his wish. He never woke up after I left. He just peacefully stopped breathing." Kurt loved the Psalms, so let's wrap this up with one that he would repeat now: Ps 1111 11116::::5 The LORD is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion. 6 The LORD protects the simplehearted; when I was in great need, he saved me. 7 Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the LORD has been good to you. 8 For you, O LORD, have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling, 9 that I may walk before the LORD in the land of the living. 11110 I believed; therefore I said, "I am greatly afflicted." 11111111 And in my dismay I said, "All men are liars." 11112 How can I repay the LORD for all his goodness to me? 11113 I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD. 11114 I will fulfill my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people. ::::11115 Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints. ::::11116 O LORD, truly I am your servant; I am your servant, the son of your maidservant; you have freed Post-script: As the family prepared for the funeral, Kurt's hematologist called to offer his condolences, and to report the findings of Kurt's last blood test. It showed that his bone marrow had stopped making blood, and that he likely had bone cancer. Had he not died when he did, this would have ended his life after at most a month, likely filled with much pain. Praise God for His perfect timing! Visit: www.villagephoto.biz/kurt for pictures, video, downloads, information and more will be added in coming days!



Donations

Hope Lutheran Church, 1301 Vintage Lane 14626



Services

Kurt's visitation will begin Friday, May 9th 2-6 PM. Following visitation, his Memorial Service will be celebrated Friday 7:00 PM at Hope Lutheran Church, 1301 Vintage Lane, his entombment is private.



Additional Information

Kurt was an BL Early Settler, 45 year employee, and a member of Teutonia Liedertafel.