Reinhard Ludwig Ernst Spies, 81

Reinhard Ludwig Ernst Spies, 81, was born April 16, 1929, to Elfrieda and Max Spies in Hamburg, Germany. He died Oct. 5, 2010, in Bigfork, of heart failure. He immigrated to Montreal in 1954 on a converted wine tanker, along with one other passenger. They paid for their journey by painting the ship during the 21-day voyage. Obtaining his U.S. visa in 1956, sponsored by his uncle in Minnesota, he joined Bank of America in their international department in San Francisco. Reinhard became a U.S. citizen in 1961 and married Barbara Wilson (daughter of Rip Wilson, longtime resident of KalispelI and Bigfork). The couple were transferred to Duesseldorf, Germany in 1964, and then to Vienna Austria in 1965. They adopted two baby boys during the six years in Vienna and then returned to the U.S. in 1971 for one year, before they moved to Chicago, Sydney, Australia, Cleveland and New York City. Although he and his family lived the world over, they always considered Bigfork home base, spending almost every summer at the Wilson residence on Flathead Lake, until taking up permanent residence in Bigfork when he retired in 1992. Reinhard was an avid bridge player, great dancer and a stamp collector, and enjoyed teaching cribbage to fourth graders; he even acted with the Bigfork Community Players once or twice. He loved boating on Flathead Lake, watching tennis and the stock market. Reinhard is survived by his wife, Barbara; sons, Stefan and Marc; daughter-in-law, Jennifer; and grandson, Max. No service will be held; the family plans a celebration of his life next summer. In lieu of flowers, anyone wishing to donate to the Bigfork Library Fund in Reinhard s behalf would be appreciated. Buffalo Hill Funeral Home is caring for the family To send condolences, please go to www.buffalohillfh.com.