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Olive I. Borgatti (Lutz)

1917 - 1990 

Olive Lutz was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1917. She graduated from Worcester State Teachers College in 1939 with a degree in education. She excelled at math and Latin, and was an honor society member. 

 

After graduation she married Anthony Borgatti, owner of Spag’s Supply, Inc. in Shrewsbury. Together, they managed the business for 50 years.

Olive was very active in community affairs, serving as a trustee of the Shrewsbury Public Library, treasurer of The Quota Club of Worcester and trustee of the executive committee of Central New England College.  She received numerous awards for her achievements including the Community Service Medallion from Worcester State University and in 1989, she and her husband were named entrepreneurs of the year for central New England.

Spag's Supply, Inc.

Olive Borgatti was the backbone of Spag’s. Spag was a great, great merchandiser and a remarkable individual, loved and respected by all who knew him ... But his wife and partner, Olive, had the pulse of everything and everybody. She was a financial genius; to the point that she would not put her pen down until she had accounted for every penny that went in and out of the store.

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She dealt with the personnel, and they loved her. And she, in her own fashion, had her finger in store set-up, inventory security and just about anything else that this retail colossus needed to be the way it was. Nothing got by her. [1]

She Loved to Fly

Unlike most pilots, Olive spent most of her life without any desire to fly. “I had flown all over the world by commercial airliners, and I was not interested in flying a small plane,” she remembers.  “In 1967, I went to Australia, and the only way to go into the great Outback was in a small airplane. I was absolutely thrilled with the ride. I said, this is for me – I’m going to learn to fly.”

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After returning from Australia, Olive started lessons. Soon she bought a used Cessna 182, which was upgraded to a brand new 182 in 1972. In 1974 she purchased a Shrike Commander, later traded in for a Commander Jet Prop 840. Last spring she took delivery of the Citation II. “We attend around 25 tradeshows a year all over the US, and will put 100 to 200 hours a year on the Citation,” says Olive. “We attend around 25 tradeshows a year all over the US, and will put 100 to 200 hours a year on the Citation,” says Olive.

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“We used to go commercially. By having an airplane, we can spend more time in our business – we do not waste travel time.” Olive still owns a Cessna 182. “We use it when we go out for coffee somewhere - from one airport to another, just for fun flying,” she says. Since her husband is prone to air sickness, Olive has learned to fly very carefully and smoothly, and both of them are able to enjoy the two aircraft. [2]

< 1972 Cessna 182P Skylane

(1) Marvin Lainer, Hats Off to Olive Borgatti (Telegram.com, December 2015)

(2) Olive Borgatti - Flyer Reader (Flying Magazine, November 1988) pgs 106-107.

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