Leonard Charles Spriggs, 77, of Houston, Texas, beloved husband and best friend of Judy Spriggs for 46 years, passed away peacefully surrounded by the ones he laughed with, lived for, and loved on Friday, April 16, 2021.

Charley was born in Clovis, NM, where he lived until moving to Topeka, KS, followed by his final home in Houston, TX. He graduated from Clovis High School and also attended Washburn University. Charley was often found working on his hot rods and enjoyed drag racing them.  His  favorite car was a '57 Chevrolet Bel Air which he modified with a '59 Corvette engine. He also served our country and spent 6 years in the Army followed by the National Guard. After his move to Houston, he reinvigorated his passion for fast cars by building a Bradley GT in his own garage!

He was a member of the Jaycees, which is an organization that focuses on growing members personal and leadership skills. This experience helped him when he volunteered with the Boy Scouts of America for 5 years as an Eagle Scout District Advancement Chairman.

He met Judy, the love of his life, while visiting his boss at a small hospital in Topeka, KS.  She was his nurse.  He never knew how that one visit would impact the rest of his life.  Their favorite pastimes together were traveling and relaxing in the sun.  They enjoyed an Alaskan cruise and spending time at the "Spriggs Oasis", their backyard pool. It was common to see Charley leaning back with his favorite drink, an ice cold Diet Coke!

Charley had a long and fascinating work history. He began with the railroad as a draftsman in an apprenticeship program.  He then worked as a highway designer and surveyor and a general contractor for homes and office buildings.  He had a major life changing event when he accepted a position in Houston with a company in a unique and exclusive industry- supplying and installing passive fire protection in nuclear power plants (NPP). In the '70s, Charley met Ralph Block, who would become his co-worker, and business partner for the next 45 years.

Charley spent 36 years in the NPP fire protection industry. He worked as a product installer, site project manager, product testing manager, site trainer, construction manager, quality assurance manager, technical VP, and co-owner. During this time, he performed supervision and training on NPPs throughout the USA, South America, Sweden, Finland, Spain, Ukraine, and Russia. Charley also performed third-party fire testing – to their national standards – in Sweden, Russia and Ukraine. Charley trained the site workers to install the fireproofing in Chernobyl Unit 3 in 1995, after the accident in Unit 4!

After 26 years in the industry, he and his partner sold their company, Promatec, in 2000. However, Charley was not ready to retire. In 1994, he and his business partner purchased an office/warehouse complex. Charley elected to take on the task of property manager over the 6-building complex, which was sold in late 2019.

He was predeceased by his brothers Kenneth and Johnny Spriggs, and his parents Leonard and Aubrey Spriggs.

Besides his wife Judy, Charley is survived by his children Kenny, Christy, Jason, and Tanya; his grandchildren, Lily, James, Kaitlyn, Emma, Madison, Caleb, and Clay; and his siblings Evelyn, Glenn, and Neva; as well as numerous other relatives and friends.

A visitation will be held on Wednesday, April 21st between the hours of 5-7pm and the memorial service will be Thursday, April 22nd at 2pm.  Both will be located at Klein Funeral Home, 9719 Wortham, Houston, TX  77065.  Burial will be immediately following Thursday's service at Klein Memorial Park - Cyfair. The family requests that those who wish to express sympathy to consider making a donation to the American Liver Foundation. The family also wishes to thank the loving and wonderful staff at the Auberge Memory Care Community at Cypresswood.

To Livestream the service: https://youtu.be/hwGBPna_8iA