Portrait of a Community Craftsman: Wilmette electrician Jack Spellman reflects after 50 years on the job

After 50 years of keeping the North Shore powered up, Wilmette electrician Jack Spellman is ready to flip the switch and follow the current into retirement. 

Through his business, Spellman Electric, Spellman served customers across the North Shore and as far west as Elk Grove Village with immense care and attention to detail. 

“I’ve been doing this job a long time, and I’ve taken it very seriously, and it’s something I created,” he told The Record North Shore via phone. “It’s my business, and it’s my responsibility. It’s always been very important to me that I keep my customers safe electrically and give them the best advice that I can. I really enjoyed that part of it, that relationship with people.”

The Relationships

And indeed, Spellman built an incredible rapport with his customers, who often began as his friends, including longtime companions from his alma mater, Loyola Academy High School, and individuals he met while sitting on the bleachers for his children’s sporting events. 

His relationship with his customers often became intergenerational, too. 

“I can think of one family where we rewired their house and, 20 years later, their children are calling us to work on their homes, and it’s really kind of fun to see them as adults when I remember them as young children,” he said, adding with a chuckle, “It kind of goes the other way around. I’ve done work for people who then get me over to their mother’s home to do some work.”

When Spellman recalls stories from his past service calls, which were often focused on rewiring older homes and performing electrical problem solving, he said memories of emergency visits tend to pop up first.

Specifically, Spellman shared his experience in late February about 25 years ago when he said everyone thought, amid beautiful and warm weather, winter was over. But then a rainstorm came, the temperature plummeted and a blizzard formed in its place. 

“A lot of shallow-rooted trees all plummeted to the ground,” Spellman recalled. “There were evergreen trees lying everywhere, and it knocked out power lines everywhere. I remember going around and temporarily wiring in people’s furnaces to their generators for two straight days.”

Family

Spellman comes from a long line of electricians, and although he said he never expected any of his five children to go into business with him, they did contribute to Spellman Electric.

“All five of my children helped me when in high school and college, and two of them worked with me for a number of years after college,” he wrote to The Record via email. “My best employees by far were my five children. There is nothing like the love and loyalty of your family.”

In January 2026, Spellman officially closed his corporation and transitioned into retirement. 

“Once all my children settled in their professions and no longer worked with me, I decided to gradually slow down over the last few years,” he said. “I officially closed the business at the end of 2025.

“I had difficulty making that decision to retire completely, so I gave myself a trial period by taking an extended vacation. After a couple months, it became clear to me that it was my time to retire.”

Retired Life

Retirement has come with an acclimation period, not just for Spellman but for his customers, proving just how valuable Spellman is in the community. 

Just a few weekends ago, Spellman was standing in his kitchen with his coffee when the doorbell rang. A “nice gentleman” and customer of approximately 10 years was at the door, Spellman explained.

“After calling my number — I don’t really answer my phone anymore, [and] I have a voicemail explaining that I retired — he felt he needed to talk to me,” Spellman said. “My wife warned him, ‘He’s still in his pajamas.’ I came out to sit on our porch and had a conversation with him, and I gave him some advice as to what he could do.

“He had hired someone else, and it wasn’t working out. … It does make me feel bad that I can’t just jump in and help. It is hard to turn that off, quite frankly. It really is.”

Nonetheless, Spellman said retirement has been going well thus far. He and his wife, Judith Spellman, recently bought a second home in Wisconsin. The property requires a lot of restoration, allowing Spellman to keep doing the hands-on work he loves.

Spellman said he’s looking forward to more family time, too, and hopes he and Judith Spellman can travel to visit their five children and many grandchildren who are dispersed across the U.S.

But the Spellmans aren’t leaving Wilmette anytime soon, especially not with roots as deep as theirs.

Jack Spellman’s familial connection to Wilmette can be traced back to the 1850s, when his great-great-great grandparents came from Trier, Germany, and settled in Wilmette on a 46-acre farm that was half a block south from their current residence. 

Jack and Judith Spellman moved to Wilmette 45 years ago with their 6-month-old son and raised all of their children there, extending those roots even further. 

“We Spellmans greatly appreciate all of you wonderful people that have supported our family and trusted Spellman Electric to perform their electrical services,” Jack Spellman said of the customers and community he was central to building. “I have many, many wonderful people that I’ve done work for throughout the whole North Shore area. And I do miss that camaraderie of seeing people I haven’t seen in a few years and touching base again.”

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