Elmer A. Sprandel, 90, a Chicago native, died Sunday in Hinsdale Hospital. Family and friends considered Mr. Sprandel an innovator and master of many trades. As a young man, he was trained as a carpenter. But when the Depression hit and business opportunities disappeared, Mr. Sprandel turned his interest elsewhere. He opened a moving and coal business on the corner of Schubert Avenue and Halsted Street. For most of the 1930s, Mr. Sprandel ran his moving business, which later became a furniture resale shop, and would often give bags of coal to customers on credit if they couldn’t pay. After the 1930s, Mr. Sprandel became a truck driver until World War II, and later returned to the carpentry business, which he retired from in the 1970s. He was also a member of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters Local 62. Survivors include one daughter, Dorothy Putz; six sons, Elmer Jr., Larry, Donald, Ralph, John and James; two sisters; 48 grandchildren; and several great- and great-great-grandchildren. A funeral servicewill be at 11 a.m. Thursday in St. Peter Church, 2805 N. Linder Ave.
