Fred Spreitzer

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, July 21, 2021

Frederic Edward Spreitzer, whose early working years as a Chicago lifeguard, bartender and bouncer were a reassuring presence for countless lakefront swimmers and tavern patrons alike, died July 13, in Lafayette. He was 78. 

Mr. Spreitzer had a varied work life with stints as a financial researcher, farmer and delivery truck driver. This was in addition to his years of bouncing and bartending at Lincoln Avenue, Rush Street and Old Town taverns, and his earlier years of lifesaving at Chicago’s Oak Street beach.

He spent most of his later working years at the Cook County Highway Department. After retiring in 2014, he was easily recognizable for his daily attire of “Farmer John” denim bib overalls and brightly colored railroad engineer’s or welder’s caps. Well over 6-foot-6 and 280 pounds, he had grown weary of searching for clothes that fit a man of his size and heft. 

But he seldom had to use that heft to keep the peace at taverns like Cassidy’s, Oxford’s, the Bratskeller and Andy’s Jazz Club. His openly friendly nature could disarm hostility all on its own.

At one point, Mr. Spreitzer actually was a farmer. In the late 1970s, he moved with his then-wife and young son to a 120-acre farm near Hartville, Missouri, to raise milk cows and grow blackberries. 

After returning to Chicago in 1981, Mr. Spreitzer became an owner of the Wrightwood Tap on the city’s near north side.  

Throughout his retirement years, cooking and barbecuing were among his favorite activities. He and his former wife hosted frequent dinners for Chicago friends and relatives. He often served as a barbecue chef for Eli’s Cheesecakes, and for several years in the early 1990s, he made jambalaya, pasta and crawfish bread for the annual French Quarter Fest in New Orleans.

Mr. Spreitzer, the youngest son of a Chicago police officer, was raised in the city’s Jefferson Park neighborhood. He held the regional Catholic High School League swimming championship for two years at St. George’s Catholic High School in Evanston, and continued competitive swimming at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. 

Swimming 80 laps several times a week was an activity Mr. Spreitzer sustained until weeks before his death. 

He is survived by his son Zachary (Annie) Spreitzer; three grandsons, Winston, Eli and Kai, all of Chicago; brother Jim (Mary) Spreitzer of New Iberia; a sister, Mary Lee (Dennis) Spirek, Chesapeake, Virginia; his former wife, Carol Anzai Spreitzer of Pottawatomie Park, Illinois; four nephews Charlie Spreitzer of South Haven, Michigan, James Spirek, of Columbia, South Carolina, John Spirek of Georgetown, Kentucky, and Scott Spirek of Columbia, South Carolina; five nieces, Jennifer Spreitzer of Bethesda, Maryland; Sarah McCalla of Austin, Texas; Amy Windsor of Lafayette; Ann Wierbinski of Chesapeake, Virginia; and Tricia Calvert of Bauford, South Carolina; nine grandnieces; 10 grandnephews; and many loving  friends in Chicago, Illinois and New Orleans.

Memorial services will be announced at a later date. Contributions should be directed to St. Francis Diner, 1201 Hopkins St., New Iberia, LA, 70560. Mr. Spreitzer was a volunteer at the diner, which serves meals to the homeless and disadvantaged of Iberia Parish.