Bob Spoo learned a long time ago that things don’t always go the way he wants them to.

Almost as soon as he got married in 1972, he went through a rough time with his wife, Susan.

Susan, who is 13 years younger than Spoo, developed Hodgkin’s disease, a rare type of lymphoma that today accounts for less than 1 percent of cancer in the United States.

The disease causes cells in the lymphatic system to reproduce abnormally, making it more difficult for the body to fight infection.

The treatments left Susan weak, but she fought through it only to be stricken with breast cancer later on.

She once again overcame her illness.

But they were tough times for the Spoo family.

Bob Spoo, 69, said the respect he has for his wife after the obstacles they have faced together is immeasurable.

“She’s a person that I admire a great deal because she’s had a lot of struggles,” Spoo said. “In the 1970s, treatment for Hodgkin’s disease was not as sophisticated as it is now. So all her treatments were debilitating.”

Somehow, he managed to keep the difficulties away from his work.

“They had to weigh on him a lot,” said John Smith, who played for and then coached with Spoo at the University of Wisconsin in the mid-1970s. “But he never wavered. He was just a strong person.”

Smith is currently Eastern’s associate athletic director for development.

Spoo’s strength in character is something that was instilled in him as a child.

South Side of Chicago

Spoo was born and raised on the South Side of Chicago. He was a Cubs fan in White Sox territory.

His father, John, was a motor man for the Chicago Transit Authority who worked his way up to supervisor while his mother, Helen, was a clerk who worked for Sears for “a lot of years,” Spoo said.

“I had a strong home life,” he said. “I had loving parents.”

He describes his older sister, Carolyn, as a saint and said he got his competitiveness from his older brother, John Jr., who played at Purdue University after going to the Air Force for four years.

Both have passed away in the last two years.

Spoo’s games of catch with his brother helped him develop the strong arm that would take him to Purdue as well and helped his brother, a wide receiver at St. Rita, learn his responsibilities on the field.

He would also use his arm as a catcher on the school’s baseball team.

“We would go out and throw the ball,” he said. “He would bring home his playbook and he would have me question him on ‘what do you do on this play?'”

That desire to learn and win was one of the reasons he wouldn’t talk to his family after a loss, something he said he has gotten over.

“I was a grouch,” he said. “I didn’t handle it well. (Now) I realize that you give it your best shot and sometimes the ball bounces your way.”

But at St. Rita High School, he hadn’t learned how to react to adversity.

Almost done before it started

He threw an interception during a scrimmage with Lindbloom High School in his freshman year. Instead of learning from the errant throw, he promptly quit the team and took his sophomore year off.

But a priest at St. Rita, Joseph Senke, spoke with him and convinced him to return to football in his junior year.

“He talked me into going back out,” he said. “Had he not, I probably wouldn’t be (here). It’s interesting how little things happen. If (the interception) hadn’t happened . I might not have had the influence of Father Senke.

“It’s strange how life works its way out.”

The decision to follow Father Senke’s advice ended up being a good one.

He starred at St. Rita and played under Ed Cody, who was a fullback for the Chicago Bears for two years in 1949-50 and a graduate of Purdue.

That helped Spoo get a scholarship, and he began his college career as a backup and roommate to Hall of Fame quarterback Len Dawson.

“He was Mr. Cool to no end,” Spoo said. “He just had so much composure, leadership and just a great throwing motion. He was something else.”

When Dawson graduated, Spoo took over as the starter and in his senior season, he engineered a 29-22 victory against Notre Dame, his favorite team growing up.

Courting Susan

After earning his bachelor’s degree in physical education from Purdue in 1960, he worked at the Chicago Park District before getting his first coaching job as an assistant at Fenwick High School in Chicago.

In 1963, he moved to Loyola Academy and took over as head coach in 1967.

It was while he was at Loyola when Spoo met his wife of 34 years at a restaurant named Hackney’s.

The restaurant was famous for its Hackney Burger, and it made Spoo come back repeatedly.

But a waitress caught his eye and when he began to personalize his soup orders – “I don’t like just broth. I like noodles and she took care of me.” – she kept accommodating.

The two would spark up a relationship and were married in August of 1972.

Ten years later, they expanded their family.

Spoo the father

Susan and Bob Spoo adopted Katie on March 25, 1982, just eight days after she was born.

As a child, she would often go to practice with her father and build forts out of tackling dummies.

“Dad loves what he does as a coach,” she said. “The only time I ever got to see my dad growing up during football season was at practice.”

Katie graduated from Eastern in 2004 and is currently studying veterinary medicine at the University of Illinois’ College of Veterinary Medicine.

She said her childhood as a coach’s daughter was normal because it was the only thing she knew.

“(But) my dad’s been a great father to me,” she said. “He made every effort to be with me as much as possible when I was a kid.

“He’s very supportive in everything I’ve done.”

Spoo said one of his best memories in his nine years as a coach at Purdue was finally getting the call that said his adoption had gone through.

He couldn’t hide his exhilaration from the other coaches.

“He was very, very excited when they were able to adopt their child,” said Joe Tiller, head coach at Purdue and a defensive coach when Spoo was there. “He was a very good family man.”

Influence as a man

His compassion and the way he is with his family have made Spoo into someone who Panthers defensive coordinator Roc Bellantoni has said he tries to emulate.

“He is my hero and a guy I aspire to be like,” he said. “He’s been great to me, great to my family.”

Bellantoni is the longest-tenured current assistant for Spoo. He will begin his sixth season at Eastern on Saturday.

When Bellantoni’s father passed away in March of 2005, he turned to Spoo to help him through it.

He said Spoo became a father figure to him at that time, and his children love him just as much as Bellantoni does.

“When my kids walk through the front door, they don’t come and hug me,” he said. “They hug him. When I need advice, he’s the first person I go to. I can’t say enough good about him because he’s meant the world to me.”