Oscar Spaly

Oscar Spaly, a local real estate stalwart and Czechoslovakian immigrant who spent more than half a century selling Ann Arbor-area homes, died earlier this week following a battle with leukemia. He was 88.

Spaly is best known as the original force behind what is now The Spaly Group, INC, a real estate sales and property management company. All four of his children worked for him, including Doug Spaly and Judy Spaly-Ness, who run the firm today.

"He always preached high integrity in business," said Doug Spaly. "He didn't feel like he was much of a salesperson as a counselor who was helping people get into home ownership.

"It was a family joke, but anywhere you go with him and even up until this year, you'd go to Big Boy and there'd be people who'd say, 'Oscar, you sold me a house back in 1950s.' "

After arriving in the United States in 1922, Oscar Spaly's family settled in Flint. He worked through school as a meat cutter. When he tried to join the U.S. Army during World War II he was forced to wait a year to establish his citizenship, Doug Spaly said. He served in Europe and joined the Army Reserves upon returning stateside, eventually retiring as a major.

Oscar Spaly earned his bachelor's degree from San Diego State University and his master's degree in economics from the University of Michigan. He moved his family to Ann Arbor in 1954.

Oscar Spaly worked for Ann Arbor Realty and Butts & Swisher before joining Richard Caldwell to open Caldwell-Spaly, which became Hobbs-Caldwell-Spaly, the Cornwell-Spaly company and then Spaly Group.

"Oscar was first and foremost a terrific professional, he was a good Realtor, he knew his community and he knew how to represent his client," said Edward Surovell of Edward Surovell Realtors. "He had the respect of the real estate community ... and he trained an awful lot of people who went on to be good professionals."

Until January, Oscar Spaly still came to work every day, Doug Spaly said.

"Oscar was certainly a storied mainstay in the real estate community," said Dennis Pearsall, president of the Real Estate One Franchise Network. "You could see that Oscar was always thinking ahead when you were talking with him ... he was very tactful in how he approached things and very successful."

Obituary: http://blog.mlive.com/annarbornews/2008/05/oscar_spaly_mainstay_in_ann_ar.html