Morton Mayer Spack passed away unexpectedly and peacefully in the early hours of August 23, 2021.
Morton was born to Eva Rostov Spack and Dave Spack on June 20, 1932, at Menorah Hospital. He grew up at 3010 Euclid Ave. in Kansas City, Missouri, which, in its unfortunate location made it an uphill walk both to school and back home, in the ever-present 10 feet of snow. To make matters worse, Morton always seemed to be barefoot at the time. The site of Morton’s birthplace now lies beneath an onramp to the Bruce Watkins Crosstown Expressway.
Morton graduated Paseo High School in 1949; he played on the basketball team and was All City and All State. Morton also won several awards for Sporting Excellence.
Morton attended the University of Missouri at Columbia on a Poker Scholarship. He was a member of Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity and was consistently on the Dean’s other list: Scholastic Probation. Following 5½ years at Mizzou, and a parental ultimatum, he left college and joined the Army. Before the ink was dry on his enlistment papers, on a weekend pass he found himself at a cocktail party at his cousin, Sally Slabotsky’s house, where he had a fateful meeting with a general from his station at Ft. Riley. Morton convinced the general that he was unfit for service. The general wholeheartedly agreed, and Morton was given an honorable discharge after six weeks at Fort Riley. Following his discharge, Morton went to work for his father in his various enterprises and continued with him for 12 years.
In the Summer of 1956, Morton was set up on a blind date with Leta Roth. After a short courtship they married on April 6, 1957. Leta and Morton were married for 62 years until Leta’s death.
In 1968 Morton joined fledgling Century Laboratories where he had a hand in building the company for nearly 40 years. Following the sale of Century to Lady Baltimore, Morton was on the management team that continued to run the company for several years. Upon retirement from Century, Morton operated L M Distributing until his passing.
A self-professed “jock,” Morton’s passion was sports of all kinds—he excelled at basketball, golf, bowling, scuba diving, volleyball and he loved his weekend tennis matches at Meadowbrook Country Club. Later in life he enjoyed his “work-outs” with his friends at the J. Morton was a natural at all sports except for surfing.
Morton was a diehard Chiefs and Royals fan--only when they happened to be winning. Morton loved traveling the world, great food, poker, and being surrounded by his friends. Morton was happiest at his house and on his boat at the Lake of the Ozarks.
Besides Fox News, Morton leaves many friends and his family to mourn his passing as well as laugh at memories of him. His survivors include: Son and daughter in law, Paul and Ileen Spack, of Overland Park and Houston; son Brian Spack of Houston; grandchildren, Aaron Spack of Houston and Zoë Spack of Austin. He also leaves his sister, Rachel Kurz of Leawood, and sister and brother-in-law Elaine and Jerry Kisluk of Houston. Morton was predeceased by his wife, Leta; his parents; his beloved mother- and father-in-law, Anna Rose and Max Roth; his sister and brother-in-law, Helen Levy and Myron Levy; his brother and sister-in-law Sol and Marge Felman; and his brother-in-law Barney Kurz.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations to be made in Morton’s memory to Unleashed Pet Rescue, Great Plains SPCA, or the charity of your choosing.
Morton was a good man, stubborn as a Missouri mule, but a good and decent man. He was honorable, and a great confidante because he had a lousy memory. One would be hard-pressed to find anyone to do anything besides praise Morton, and easy to find those who have wonderful, warm stories about him. We will all miss Morton and his laughter.
A memorial service will be held at a later date.
