Adventurer, former Harvard resident
John Lawrence Spash, 74, of Rangeley, Maine, and Clinton, Mass., formerly of Harvard, died on Dec. 2 after a brief illness.
He was born in South Battersea, England, on Aug. 9, 1935, son of the late John and Marjorie (Wood) Spash. After attending Croydon Technical College, he served with British forces in Malaya from 1956 to 1958. Adventurous, he traveled the world from South Africa to Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, and met his wife on a train between San Francisco and Boston. John worked for Digital for many years as a consulting engineer, retiring in 1989. He held seven patents from both the United States and the European Union.
John had a lifelong passion for the wilderness, the natural world, and self-sufficiency. Many of his most rewarding years were spent raising his family while farming and raising livestock on Great Meadow Farm on Finn Road in Harvard. He spent his later years with his wife in Rangeley and Rockport, Maine, in homes he designed and built.
John is survived by his wife of 43 years, Marilou (Hunter) Spash of Clinton; his children, Melissa Spash Larco and her husband, Federico, of Acton; Geoffrey Lawrence William Spash and his wife, Tonia, of Kingston, N.H.; and Robert Hunter Spash of Austin, Texas; and by grandchildren Hunter, Isabella, and Sophia Larco; and Lillian and Evelyn Spash. He was also the brother of the late Patricia Hodges of Billericay, England.
Private services were held on Dec. 7, and a spring burial will take place in Rangeley, Maine. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made in his memory to the Salvation Army at salvationarmy.org.
