Nina Sparks

MADISON - Nina Suzanne Sparks, age 86, passed away on Monday, April 13, 2020, at her home in Sun Prairie, Wis. A relatively private person and never liking the spotlight, I’m sure she’ll be annoyed at me for writing all of this about her. Here are the Top 15 things some of you might not have known about my “Mutti”: 15. She was a Phi Beta Kappa college graduate, majoring in Spanish. After college, she successfully enabled my Dad’s Ph.D. by working to support them while he went to school and flawlessly typing every page of his thesis—without understanding a single word of his organic chemistry mumbo-jumbo. 14. She had major back surgery in the late 90s. She not only lived to tell about it, she got back to playing tennis and continued to play for 10 years after that. 13. She had never heard a Mahler symphony until my Dad bought her a recording. She listened, and then appeared at the top of the stairs sobbing her eyes out. (He thought their dog had died). She became addicted, as evidenced by the overflow of Mahler CDs performed by every orchestra on the planet I found in her stereo cabinet. We’re certain her downstairs neighbor can probably hum them, all 10 of them by now. 12. She secretly always wanted to be a race car driver. She never got her wish. But she was a lead-foot, she swooned over hot cars, and still had an active license in 2020. She loved chauffeuring friends around Madison (and occasionally even into Milwaukee), who had since long abandoned driving any distances. We must have pulled more than 100 printed google maps and accompanying step-by-step directions from the seat pockets of her 15-year-old car, “Monty.” She also lovingly referred to Monty as “my tank” because (as she was known to say), “he’ll get me out of any snow bank or through any arctic blast Madison can throw at me!” 11. She was an avid sports fan. College…pro…didn’t matter. She’d quote stats, scores, and knew upcoming schedules. She especially loved watching football and tennis (and had a secret crush on Djokovic or “Djokey” as she called him). Clearly missing her opportunity as a talent scout, she was proud that she pointed him out to my Dad in the early 2000s and said, “that kid is going to be a phenom someday…you watch!” Not surprisingly, Dad’s tennis game could never quite live up to “Djokey’s.” 10. She was born in Wauwatosa, Wis., and never really relinquished her alliance to the Packers, even though she married my Chicago-born, Bears-rooting Dad. My parents moved around the country, so she never had to answer to Cheeseheads for her traitor-like, Bears-fan behavior, until she moved to Madison 10 years ago. Dad had passed, so she quickly returned to rooting for the Green-and-Gold (with the Bears, a close second). 9. She was a lifelong learner. A voracious reader, she’d often read two to three books a week, and compete with my dad to see who could finish the weekly Sunday New York Times crossword puzzle fastest. (She would usually win handily). When she moved to Madison, she volunteered at the Sun Prairie Library (her favorite building--I think she would have lived there if she could have!) … was a member of two book clubs … enrolled in several PLATO courses each semester … coveted her season tickets to the Madison Symphony … volunteered as an elections judge … and played Mahjong regularly. She treasured her Madison friends who always made her feel cared for (and whom she could frequently beat at Mahjong)… and she generally made it impossible for me to figure out where she was at any given day or time, because she was never home. This also annoyed her cat, who liked to be fed at least three times per day. 8. Speaking of cats…at her core, she adored all animals. She brought “Zoggie” to Madison with her from Chicago, and when he passed, she adopted “Sassy.” Frankly, Sassy was significantly more spoiled than even I was. (Ok, maybe). She was captivated with owls and accumulated owl-motif items throughout her house … she (and we) had dachshunds growing up … she introduced me to horses at an early age … and in addition to having donation plaques at multiple animal shelters, she was still regularly ‘sponsoring’ rescue horses and toys for zoo animals. She loved watching birds, had bird feeders until she couldn’t anymore, and could recognize bird species not only by their markings, but the actual songs. To that point, she also had the loudest-and-most-annoying clock that chimed on the half hour each with a different bird call. …Scared the living heck out of anyone who happened to be there on the half-hour, including poor Sassy. 7. Sassy-the-cat would not have agreed that Mom spoiled her. Any ongoing love and care that Mom provided were completely negated when she staged and costumed Sassy every year for the Holiday photo card. I had no sympathy; Mom did the same thing to me and “Strudel” (the family dachshund) for the first 13 years of my life, including a year where I was playing piano for the singing dachshund. (Did wonders for my hip and cool image). 6. Her creative abilities didn’t stop at Holiday cards. There was the (actually incredible) 3’x4’ Santa Claus face she hand-painted every year on our Living Room window ….the clever rhyming and limerick “poems” she could create for just about any gifting occasion… and the “Sisters tribute” DVD she spent months composing, comprised of family photos, video clips, original subtitles, and set to music for the Bade sisters reunion. 5. She was also “creative” when it came to technical things. She was a technology early-adopter (at least among her age group!): VCRs, DVRs, email, texting, Word, Publisher, even self-taught Excel. She didn’t let anything stop her – except maybe auto-correct and her arthritic hands, which quite frequently resulted in inappropriate words and odd texting special effects. Oh, and mechanical things? Not-so-handy: her motto was, “If it doesn’t fit, force it. If it breaks, it wasn’t meant to be.” Seriously. She said that. Often. 4. She accidentally shot her mother-in-law in the rear-end with Reddi-Wip (yes, the whipped cream in a spray can!) on her first dinner at their home. (At least she claimed it was accidental). 3. She decided it would be “fun” to sail, so brought home a 12-foot dinghy from Sears and presented it to my Dad with a book “How to Sail.” Two years later, after a wild storm, she and Dad were leading the way out to open seas on Lake Michigan (Door County) in their 24-foot weekender sailboat, with all the other (wimpier) captains and crew following behind in their boats. 2. She and my Dad traveled throughout Europe, Asia, and the South Pacific. Came close to being arrested twice, once in East Germany (before the Berlin wall was taken down) and once in Italy-- both for unknowingly disobeying transportation signs. At least those are the two times she was willing to tell me about. 1. Nina was preceded in death by her husband and soulmate, Allen K. Sparks, and beloved parents, Alfred and Clara (Harder) Bade. She presided as “Sister #1,” and treasured her relationships with surviving sisters: #2 Joan (the late Jim) Tischer (Rosemount, Minn.); #3 Edith Wunderlich (Brevard, N.C.); and #4 Jeri (Gerald) Wexelbaum (Cashiers, N.C.); as well as several nieces and nephews. She is also survived by her loving son-in-law, Terry Johnson, for whom she served as chief sarcasm-sparring partner, and me, Alison Sparks-Johnson, her spoiled, forever-grateful, adoring daughter, who lost not just her beloved mom, but her best friend on April 13. Those who were privileged enough to really know her will always remember her never-ending smarts, wit, graciousness, and support. A private “Celebration of Life” will be held in lieu of a service, in part because her small family is spread throughout the country … and her Madison friends all relied on her to drive them anywhere. If you’d like to honor her, please consider giving generously “in memory of” to one of Nina’s two favorite animal shelters: • Dane County Humane Society (https://www.giveshelter.org/how-to-help/donate ) OR • Hooved Animal Humane Society http://www.hahs.org/ Finally, I’d like to thank the staff at Hyland Park of Sun Prairie for the lovely home, kindness and care they provided. Online condolences may be made at www.gundersonfh.com. Gunderson East Funeral & Creation Care 5203 Monona Drive (608) 221-5420