Walt Spak: Farewell and Parting

Originally posted by Harlan Hadley at American Lancia Club

It has been several weeks since Walt Spak succumbed to his illnesses in Pittsburgh. Although he had been enduring worsening MS for years and had recently been suffering from a difficult case of lymphoma, his friends and family never expected him to leave so soon. It’s been tough; he was a very bright light and a centerpiece of the Eastern faction of our club.

His memorial gathering was well attended and reflected the diversity of Walt’s interests. His interests were diverse:   there was his family, VW Vanagon enthusiasts, Moto Guzzi enthusiasts and of course some hard-core Lancisti. He would have loved it; a very diverse group meeting each other and learning about our differences and sameness’s.

The parking lot was just as varied. ‘Iron Man’ Tom Stewart rode a lightweight dual-purpose motorcycle from his home near Purcellville, VA to central Pittsburg. What a dude!

After several hours at the urban park setting of the memorial gathering, the Lancisti met at Walt’s favorite Italian bar/restaurant for dinner and gossip. There were seven very notable Lancisti enthusiasts around the table: Tom Stewart from Virginia, Garnet and Harlan Hadley from Virginia, Geoff Goldberg from Chicago, Mike and Michael Kristick from Pennsylvania and Jim Harn from Florida.

We ate, drank and shot the breeze until 10:30. Geoff had the draft of his coming book about deVirgilio and Lancia and had photos of many original engineering drawings produced during the development of the Aurelia. His book will be a must for all serious enthusiasts.

1966 Lancia Flamina GT, owned by Walt Spak, won "Best Lancia Class" at the 2012 Cortile.

The event was a great memorial to a truly great guy. He would have been proud. It certainly helped us move ourselves on and say goodbye to a good friend.

~ Harlan Hadley

A memorial service will be held Sat Aug 24th 2013 from 2-8pm, Valley refuge shelter located in Riverwiew park in the North side of Pittsburgh. http://www.pittsburghparks.org/riverview-directions   Walt's son Ryan expressed this, "I want everyone to know this will be come-as-you-are casual because I really think my dad would have wanted a nice remembrance of his life and for people to come together for him at least one last time without it being stuffy and formal."