Jeffrey Lawrence Spinardi

Jeffrey Lawrence Spinardi, 66, of Summerville, SC, passed away on Wednesday, January 25, 2023.

Born on December 8, 1956 in Brooklyn, NY, he was a son of the late Miriam Wolinetz Spinardi and Sebastian Spinardi.

"Jeff" as he was affectionately known, graduated from New York University with his Bachelor’s of Science in Marketing, and started his career as a Regional Sales Representative for Armstrong Flooring Corporation.  As a bright, young representative, he was quickly recognized by Armstrong for his talent, and was awarded the pestigious Founder’s Award, which he always was very proud of.  Following his early career at Armstrong, Jeff continued his career in the flooring industry at Culver Flooring, B. Shehadi and Sons, and then started his own flooring company, Independent Commercial Flooring, Inc.  During the over ten years that Independent was operating, Jeff proved to be an incredibly successful entrepreneur, growing the company into a multi-million dollar business and receiving recognition from the Starnet Worldwide Commercial Flooring Partnership. A true entrepreneur, Jeff then opened two retail stores- Greetings from Closter and Greetings from Hoboken, two well loved “mom and pop” card and gift stores in New Jersey.  In his later years, he finally was able to take his passion for cooking, and launch another career in the culinary arts. He opened one more business, Milford Eats, a bagel shop and deli in Milford, New Jersey, harkening back to his Brooklyn roots. 

In addition to business, Jeff was incredibly passionate about community organizing.  He ran for local political offices while in his early twenties and maintained an interest in local and national politics for the remainder of his life.  He was known for his volunteerism and leadership in whatever community he belonged to, and notably, while living in Gerritsen Beach, Brooklyn, started a community newspaper, helped to renovate the local beach, and spearheaded the effort to build the Gerritsen Beach community garden.  His neighbors always   appreciated his friendship and eagerness to volunteer to help others, and improve the quality of life in his neighborhood.

Jeff is preceded in death by his father and mother, Sebastian and Miriam Spinardi, and his older brothers Donald and Harris Spinardi.

Jeff is survived by his brother Charles Spinardi, his sister-in law Janet Spinardi, his nephew, Charles Louis Spinardi, his daughter Jan (Spinardi) Pirozzi, his son-in-law Marco Pirozzi, and three grandchildren: Sasha, Sofia and Emilia Pirozzi. Jeff shared his passion for cooking with his family.  As the third generation of “home chef” in his family, he was often happiest in the kitchen, cooking with, or for, his family and friends.  Additionally, Jeff was incredibly passionate about history, and spent much of his family time sharing this on visits to President’s homes, Revolutionary and Civil war battle sites, and National Parks-often leading his own private tour as he was as knowledgeable of history as any professional tour guide.

The family is planning a memorial and funeral service in Brooklyn, New York, and will share details at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the American Lung Association via action.lung.org.

Expressions of sympathy may be submitted and viewed online at mcalister-smith.com.

Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to McAlister-Smith Funeral Home, 2501 Bees Ferry Rd, Charleston, SC 29414, (843) 722-8371.