Distance runner, soldier, marksman, skydiver and cowboy action shooter Robert Anthony "Bob" Spatola, 94, of Harpers Ferry, W.Va., passed away peacefully on December 11, 2024, with wife, Debbie, of 40 years by his side.

Bob was born on July 10, 1930, in Philadelphia, Pa. On May 6, 1937, then 6-year-old Bob watched as the German rigid airship Hindenburg flew over the Jersey coast within hours of its disastrous crash at Naval Air Station Lakehurst. A cross-country runner in his teens, the University of Pennsylvania alumnus enlisted in the U.S. Army after World War II and remained in the Reserves through 1966. Captain Spatola won multiple awards for his marksmanship. In the 1950s he became a pioneering jumpmaster in the skydiving industry and had over 500 parachute jumps by the time he ended his skydiving career. In 1962 he served as the executive director of the Sixth World Sport Parachuting Championships in Orange, MA. Bob was also a longtime member of the Single Action Shooting Society, competing under the aliases Sergeant Frank Finkel and Dirty Dog.

In addition to wife, Debbie, Bob is survived by several generations of relatives, including cousin Suzanne Brose-Hemmerick, nieces Suzie Moore, Sandy Anderson, and Barbara and Mimi Sigel, and nephews Chase and Jamie Carey.

Bob was predeceased by his parents, Felix James Spatola Jr. and Elsie (née Grogan) Spatola; first wife Emelya (née Junker) Spatola; sisters Elizabeth Mae "Betty" Murray, Leonore "Lee" Sigel, Gloria Teresa Anderson and Elsie Carey; and brother Felix J. Spatola III. A lifelong caretaker of animals domestic and wild, Bob is also survived by his dachshund Abby (aka Squeaky) and cats Lucky and Reacher.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Friday, January 17, 2025 at 11:00 a.m. with a Rosary at 10:30 a.m., at the Roman Catholic Parish of St. James the Greater, 49 Crosswinds Drive, Charles Town.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 510 Butler Avenue, Martinsburg, WV 25405.