Joel Spitzer, 83: He always played piano for guests, usually jazz or classical

This story is part of an ongoing Miami Herald series chronicling the lives of South Florida COVID-19 victims.

Every time a guest visited his house, Joel Spitzer sat at his piano and played classical or jazz tunes. Music was his lifelong passion.

“He loved a lot of traditional songs,” said his son, Peter Allas. “He would play Gershwin, but he would also play Cole Porter. One of his favorites was Duke Ellington.”

Spitzer was born on Long Island, N.Y., on June 30, 1936, the second of three boys. He had an older brother, David, and a younger brother, Harold. In the 1950s and 1960s, his father, Charles Spitzer, was the vice president of sales and marketing for watch-band manufacturer Speidel. The company played a role in the early days of television, sponsoring shows like “Make Room for Daddy,” “Name that Tune” and “Your Show of Shows.”

Growing up, he got to know television personalities such as comedians Milton Berle and Paul Winchell. Years later, his family, including his children, had Passover seder dinners with Miss America host Bert Parks in Florida.

Spitzer, who died of COVID-19 on April 25 at age 83, was a near-scratch golfer and a good tennis player. His family said he would talk about his first car — a Chevrolet Biscayne from the 1950s — every once in a while.

After attending Cornell and Adelphi universities, he lived through the 1950s in Washington, D.C., where he worked at a record store.

In 1959, he married Roni Shapiro and joined the U.S. Army. He was stationed in Fort Sam Houston in Texas. Roni joined him there until he was honorably discharged, and they moved to Forest Hills, Queens. They lived in an apartment where their sons Marty and Jeffrey were born.

Roni took care of the house and kids while Spitzer worked for Speidel as a traveling salesman.

Their third child, Lisa, was born in 1966. Roni and Joel got divorced in 1971, but they stayed friends for life. Spitzer was at the hospital when Roni died of cancer in 2009 and also attended her funeral.

In 1973, he met Evonne Gianopulos, a first-grade teacher, in Chicago. They married the following year and moved to Forest Hills.

The family remained close, said Jeffrey Spitzer.

“We spent every holiday together; every Christmas, every Thanksgiving,” he said. “My parents decided to not be selfish and to make sure that just because they got divorced, we shouldn’t be affected.”

Roni and Evonne would call each other “wives-in-law,” said Marty Spitzer. Evonne had a son named Peter Allas. No one used the term stepmother or stepbrother. There was just family.

After working for Speidel until around 1973, Joel joined the Charles Rothman company and sold jewelry. He eventually decided to branch out on his own and started Joel Spitzer Associates, known as JSA Inc., where he continued to sell earrings and crosses in Florida and North Carolina. In 1985, Jeffrey joined the firm. They started as manufacturers’ representatives for other companies and eventually carried their own lines.

Spitzer loved his work and never retired.

“My dad loved to work, he loved to travel and he loved seeing his customers,” Jeffrey said. “He was always dressed to a T — he would wear the Armani suits and the Boss suits, you know. Always a flamboyant tie.”

Jeffrey continues to operate the business.

Spitzer loved his children and grandchildren — Odin, Andrew, Rachael, Brandon, Tyler and Tristan. He carried pictures, often 8x10s, in his briefcase, showing them off to anyone who would take a look.

By 1993, he had moved with Evonne to Crystal House, a Collins Avenue condo on Miami Beach. He opened an office in the 407 Lincoln Road building, which includes the famous digital clock on top. In 2000, the couple moved to an Aventura condo.

Evonne fell ill. She suffered a brain aneurysm, colon cancer, melanoma and a broken hip. Joel, who developed lung disease, took care of everything for her. But both remained relatively healthy until her medical issues caught up with her. She broke her hip this past spring and then spent some time at an Aventura rehab facility before being sent home on April 7 without being tested for COVID-19. It turned out she had the disease.

Soon, both were taken to Aventura Hospital, where they were given rooms just a few doors down from one another. They died just a few days later without being able to see each other.

Bianca Marcof, a Florida International University journalism student, wrote this story for the Miami Herald.