Dennis P. Spoto's Obituary
Dennis (Denny) Peter Spoto, 77, of Tarpon Springs, peacefully passed away on Thursday, July 16th, 2020. He was born on January 9th, 1943 in Brooklyn, New York to Peter Raymond & Dorothy (Meigs) Spoto. After graduating from High School in 1961, Denny joined the Air Force and served his country honorably until 1965. While in the Air Force, he showed an aptitude for electronics. He always had an analytical mind and throughout his entire life, he was taking something apart to learn how it worked. After leaving the Air Force, he continued his studies and work in the electronics field eventually becoming a mainframe computer technician. He worked with computers for many years; then turned entrepreneur with a successful vending business. In 1970, a new job moved Denny and his family to Florida where he fell in love with the weather, the water and fishing. An avid fisherman, he became involved in the Suncoast Tarpon Roundup tournament and in his first year of competing took a third place. His love of fishing lent itself to a new hobby, building custom rods, both for himself and others. He also created how-to videos on rod building, which was captured by an on-air news story. Of course, with fishing comes boating, which Denny enjoyed so much he built several of his own. On the land, he loved baseball. As a boy, he and his brother would collect candy wrappers to trade in for tickets to the Brooklyn Dodgers. And when the Rays baseball club came to Florida, Denny became a fan. But most of all, he loved his family.
Denny is predeceased by his parents and a brother, Raymond Spoto. He is survived by his loving partner, Grace Edge; his two daughters, Susan Spoto and Deborah Gaito; his son-in-law Todd Gaito; and his grandson Robert Gaito. He is also survived by a niece, Renee Spoto Spafford, nephew Peter Spoto, and great nieces and nephews Destiny Spafford, Peter, Anthony, and Michael Spoto, and Brian Deegan, as well as many friends.
A celebration of Denny’s life will be held at a later date.
The family would appreciate hearing about your good memories of Denny. To leave your memories, please click on the "Tribute Wall" tab.
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