James Robert Spata, 85, of Kenosha, WI passed away on Saturday, June 14, 2025, at Aurora Medical Center.
He was born on June 28, 1939, in Chicago, IL to the late James and Grace (Staskal) Spata.
On October 30, 1965, James married Lyla Foss at Northlake, IL. Together, they bought and ran Valeo’s Pizza for forty years. During that time, Valeo’s sponsored hundreds of school and civic sporting teams, church youth groups, and community activities. In 2010, Jim earned the Kenosha Italian Businessman of the Year.
Eric and Christal bought the business and made sure to carry on the legacy of what Jim and Lyla had built. Jim and Lyla continued to work part-time, which allowed them to spend their time traveling the world on tours and cruises. He had to officially retire in April of 2025, due to an illness.
Jim was a collector of albums, 8-tracks, cassettes, and DVD’s, which included a wide range of genres. Jim loved spending time with his family, especially watching his grandchildren’s sporting and theatre events. He also drove his boat and taught many young people how to water ski earning his favorite title, “Papa”.
Jim was a member of Journey Church for 42 years. His first love was Jesus. He was part of a neighborhood Friday Breakfast Group for many years and part of the same Journey Church Care Group for 15 years.
He is survived by his wife of 60 adventurous years, Lyla; children, Michelle (Jody) Bossle, Dori Spata, Tammi (Kirk) Gunhus, Eric (Christal) Spata, and Cara (John) Jahnke; 14 grandchildren; 4 great-grandchildren; and brothers, Albert and Frank Spata.
Along with his parents, he is preceded in death by his brother, Paul Spata.
A visitation will be held at Journey Church, 10700 75th St, on Saturday, June 21, 2025, from 10:00 a.m. until the time of service at 12:00 p.m. Private interment will be held at Sunset Ridge Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers donations can be made to the foster care programs through 1Hope Community at https://1hope.networkforgood.com/
