Remembering Joe Zaspel

Joe Zaspel, was a veteran television reporter who jumped in and out of politics. Zaspel, also served in former Gov. Dixy Lee Ray’s administration.
Zaspel grew up in Parkland, Pierce County, graduating from Tacoma’s Franklin Pierce High School in 1959. He attended Washington State University, where he majored in communications (KUGR), graduating in 1963. His first jobs were as a radio newsman for stations in Chehalis and Bremerton. Then in 1969 he joined KIRO-TV, where he worked off and on for the next 13 years. One of the ”off” times was during Governor Ray’s administration, in which Zaspel worked as legislative liaison, headed her Seattle office and directed a tourism program. He left the Ray administration to return to KIRO in 1979, then went to work for a Denver television station before joining KCPQ 13 and later the Cable News Network as a Seattle-based correspondent in 1985. Zaspel died November 4, 1988. He was driving to his Ballard residence after working at a political campaign headquarters when he suffered a heart attack while crossing the Ballard bridge shortly after 8:30 p.m. His car spun out of control and came to a stop. He was pronounced dead in Harborview Medical Center’s emergency room shortly before 9 p.m., according to the King County medical examiner’s office. He was 47.