Joseph P. Spilker, 71, electrician

As a union electrician, Joseph P. Spilker Sr. "did all the heavy stuff" at construction sites, son Joseph P. Jr. said.

"My dad liked doing heavy cables," his son said.

"So he would bring the 13,000-volt service into the building and hook up the transformers so it became power for the rest of the building."

On Sunday, Aug. 21, Mr. Spilker, 71, of Little Egg Harbor Township, N.J., who helped construct Veterans Stadium and Citizens Bank Park, died of complications from a lung infection at Temple University Hospital.

Born in Philadelphia, Mr. Spilker was the youngest of five brothers, all now deceased, who grew up near Second and Wolf Streets in South Philadelphia.

Mr. Spilker graduated from what is now SS. John Neumann and Maria Goretti Catholic High School there in 1962 and apprenticed from 1967 to 1971 with Electricians Local 98.

As a medic in the Army Reserve, he served in Philadelphia from 1966 to 1971, his son said.

He lived in Williamstown from the early 1970s before moving in 1988 to the Mystic Island section of Little Egg Harbor.

Mr. Spilker, a second-generation member of Local 98, not only worked on construction of the stadiums, but on rewiring places such as the Academy of Music.

He retired in the late 1990s.

Kevin Whitney, now foreman for a Montgomery County electrical firm, was an apprentice under Mr. Spilker. After Veterans Stadium had been built, Whitney said, the pair went back for almost a year, "to run miles and miles of pipes to go around the concourse" with electric cables inside.

Some of the work was for a new scoreboard, he said; other work was meant to accommodate new suites.

With appreciation, Whitney said Mr. Spilker was "very difficult to work with, a hardworking man."

"If you didn't know how to get it done," Whitney said, "he would say, 'Get out of the way, watch me and learn.' "

As an apprentice, Whitney said, "I had no idea what I was getting into. He told me how to be safe and do things the smart way."

Besides his son, Mr. Spilker is survived by sons Phillip and Dave, five grandchildren, and his former wife, Linda Spilker-Chew.

A visitation was set from 9:30 to 10:45 a.m. Friday, Aug. 26, at St. Vincent de Paul Church, 5021 Harding Highway, Mays Landing, N.J., before an 11 a.m. Funeral Mass, followed by interment in Holy Cross Cemetery there.

Donations may be sent to Special Operations Warrior Foundation at specialops.org.

Condolences may be offered to the family at spilkerfuneralhome.com.

wnaedele@phillynews.com

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