Matthew L. Spitzer

Male 1929 - 2013  (83 years)


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  • Name Matthew L. Spitzer 
    Born 20 Jun 1929  Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, USA Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender Male 
    Died 8 Feb 2013  Hayward, Alameda County, California, USA Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Person ID I4358  Cody LeBlanc's Family Tree
    Last Modified 14 Aug 2022 

    Family R.S. Rodd 
    Last Modified 17 Apr 2016 
    Family ID F1732  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Event Map
    Link to Google MapsBorn - 20 Jun 1929 - Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, USA Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsDied - 8 Feb 2013 - Hayward, Alameda County, California, USA Link to Google Earth
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    Pin Legend  : Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  • Photos
    Matthew L. Spitzer
    Matthew L. Spitzer
    Obituary picture

  • Notes 
    • Obituary:

      Matthew L. Spitzer passed away in Hayward, CA February 8, 2013 after a three year battle with Renal Cell Carcinoma.

      Born June 20, 1929, in Pittsburgh, PA to loving parents Martin and Ruth Spitzer, he was raised in Niagara Falls, NY. He attended Niagara Falls High School and Buffalo State Teachers (NYSU , Buffalo).

      Matthew's parents educated their only child to be a classical pianist, starting lessons at age four, but he was more inclined toward 30's and 40's jazz, at which he excelled. His first paying gig, at the age of 13, was in a Niagara Falls saloon where he had to hide in the kitchen when the authorities came around. A truly talented professional pianist with perfect pitch, he played in the Niagara Falls/Buffalo area both solo and with The Billy Howells Band. He continued to play professionally until the '60's, quitting because his business success left little time for piano gigs, and because rock and roll wasn't his métier.

      Matthew was passionate about flying, and took the money from that first paying gig to buy his first flying lesson. His first airplane was a yellow Taylorcraft. His ATP license covered fixed wing single and multi-engine, land and sea, and rotorcraft, and he was rated to fly his Cessna Citation. He often flew his own planes from California to New York to visit his parents, and had many flying adventures with his pilot friend Rob Higgins.

      Matthew married Janet Jacobson in 1953. Together they produced four sons, Mark, Eddie, Eric and Joe. Matthew and Janet (deceased) were divorced in 1973.

      A true entrepreneur, Matthew started several small electronics businesses while in his twenties. While none of them were successful, he learned from those early experiences and acquired additional business experience working for Bell, Collins Radio and General Dynamics. After he moved to California in 1968, he returned to the entrepreneurial path and started or acquired several successful businesses, including Spitzer Music, Sahlein Distributing, Leo's Professional Audio, and his last venture, Spitzer Helicopter Leasing. Helicopter leasing combined his entrepreneurial drive, business experience, and love of flying. He got the idea for leasing helicopters after he took helicopter lessons from his friend Patrick Corr in 1985, and eventually acquired a fleet of more than 80 Robinson Helicopters, primarily leased to flying schools around the country.

      A man for all seasons, Matthew was also a ham radio operator, skilled sailor, motorcycle rider, enthusiastic traveler, lifetime Mensa member, and student of stem cell research and quantum mechanics. He was a member of Niagara LaSalle Masonic Lodge No.0132.

      Matthew is survived by his wife, Rosemary Rodd, whom he married in 1987 and his four sons and their families (Mark and Leah, Eddie and his fiancé Katarina, Eric and Michelle, and Joe and Eleanore ), seven grandchildren (Mindy, Rebecca, Max, Jacob, Geoffrey, Elise, and Russell), one great grandchild (Chase Nevada Poland), and cousin Sidney Bender.

      The family thanks his caretakers from Pathways Hospice and Eldercare, and his friend Gary Harris who brought lunch and discussed physics with him every Thursday for the past three years.

      Services will be held 1pm February 24 at Sorenson's Mortuary in Hayward.

      (Published in San Francisco Chronicle on February 17, 2013)