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Obituary

Longtime food supplier

By MARTY CLEAR
Published February 2, 2007

WEST TAMPA - Generations of Tampa residents dined on Paul Spoto's food and danced to his music.

Mr. Spoto, who passed away Jan. 24 at age 88, spent his entire adult life as the co-owner of Progresso Importing Co., a wholesaler that supplied food to many local restaurants. He joined the company, which his father had started, as a young man, and was still actively involved during his 80s.

"He loved his work," said his wife, Georgina "Cookie" Spoto. "He just loved it. He knew all his customers by name because they had all been with him for so long, and he always looked forward to seeing them."

For many years, Mr. Spoto also pursued his passion for music, playing saxophone, flute and clarinet with some of Tampa's most popular dance bands, including Victor Ruiz, Young Raymond and the Casino Orchestra. Mr. Spoto and the bands he played with were well-known to people who frequented Tampa's centros and social clubs. Mr. Spoto performed regularly at the popular tea dances at Centro Espanol in the 1940s and 1980s.

Mr. Spoto was born in West Tampa and went to work with his father at Progresso Importing, in West Tampa, after high school. He took over the company after his father retired.

The only time in his life he did not live in Tampa was during World War II, when he joined the Army. He was captured on Jan. 1, 1945, during the Battle of the Bulge and spent almost a year in a German prison camp.

"He said they fed him water and potato peels," his wife said. "His sister told me that when he came out, he weighed 86 pounds."

After the war he came back to Tampa and rejoined his family and his business. He married his first wife, Mary, in the 1940s. They remained together for 50 years, until her death.

He and his second wife didn't meet until 1998, although they had many friends in common and traveled in the same social circles.

"Our paths kept crossing, but we never met," she said. "I probably have even danced to his music and didn't know it."

She even knew his son, John, and it was at a Krewe of Sant'Yago event honoring John that she was introduced to her future husband.

"He didn't call me for a few weeks, but then we started going out to dinner and things like that, and it developed into a wonderful relationship," she said. "He was a gentleman, and he was a gentle man."

The couple settled in West Tampa, where Mr. Spoto had lived almost his whole life. Not too long after they married, his health started to deteriorate. He continued to work at Progresso, which had moved to Drew Park. He continued working until 2001, when he turned the business over to his son. A few years later, the business was sold, renamed and moved out of Tampa.

Mr. Spoto suffered from a variety of ailments, and his health continued to deteriorate over the years. He was living in a nursing home. On Jan. 24 one of the nurses saw Mr. Spoto, who was a devout Catholic, making the sign of the cross.

"She said, 'Mr. Spoto, why are you praying?' " his wife said. "He said, 'Because I'm going to die today.' Sure enough, within 10 minutes he was dead. He looked so serene, so peaceful. He was almost smiling."

Besides his wife and his son, Mr. Spoto is survived by his daughter Mary Solar, his sister Josephine Sierra, seven grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

[Last modified February 1, 2007, 08:09:25]