1924 – 2016

AUBURN — Harold “Hack” Hubert Spiller Jr., 91, of Rangeley died Thursday, May 19, at the Androscoggin Home Care & Hospice House.

He was born June 26, 1924, in Sandy River Plantation, the son of Harold Sr. and Evelyn (Overton) Spiller. On Nov. 16, 1942, after graduating from high school, Hack enlisted in the U.S. Navy. He served with Patrol/Bombing Squadron 16 (VPB16) 2nd Engineer, aviation mechanic and tail gunner in the Pacific Theater. He also attended two years of flight school and served with a fighter squadron in San Diego, Calif. He served two tours to Korea, first aboard the USS Philippine Sea and then aboard the USS Valley Forge, which was the first vessel to pass through the Suez Canal and circumnavigate the world. Hack also was stationed in Quonset Point, R.I., South Weymouth, Mass., Brunswick N.A.S., Annapolis and Patuxent River, Md. He retired in December 1962, after a 20-year career, as a chief petty officer in the U.S. Navy. His honors included the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Ribbon with Three Battle Stars and the Combat Air Crew Wings.

Hack married Gertrude Shea on Aug. 17, 1955, and they raised two daughters. The family returned to Sandy River Plantation in 1962 where Hack worked for D.C. Morton as a heavy equipment operator, mechanic and truck driver. Later on, he was a ski lift operator at Saddleback Mountain in the winter months. During the summer, he was the appointed cemetery sexton for the town of Rangeley.

Hack was a 50-year member, past master and secretary of the Kemankeag Masonic Lodge No. 213 in Rangeley, the Western Mountain Shrine Club and Kora Temple Shriners. He also was a member of the Rangeley Lakes American Legion Post No. 120 serving as finance officer, and a member and deacon of the Church of the Good Shepherd in Rangeley. Hack enjoyed planting and harvesting a large vegetable garden every year and doing crossword puzzles.

He is survived by his two daughters, Virginia (Ginny) and husband, James, of Rangeley, and Barbara Lowell of Rangeley; his two granddaughters, Catherine Lowell of Strong and Lisa Lowell of Stratton; his two sisters, Alice Richardson of Rangeley and Lorraine (Tinker) Dunham and husband, Bill, of Rangeley; and many nieces and nephews.

He was predeceased by his wife, Gertrude Spiller, in 2015; and his brother, William (Bunk) Spiller, in 2013.