Obituaries

Recent Obituaries
In Memoriam Archive

Archive

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Results for "Z"


David Zohn ’52

David Zohn ’52, February 17, 1994, in Los Angeles, of pneumonia. He was a real estate investor and owner and president of his own company, the Zohn Corporation. He also taught real estate investment classes. Before beginning his career in real estate, he was a chaplain in the U.S. Army and director of organizations for the City of Hope Medical center in Los Angeles. He was treasurer of the Los Angeles Chapter of the Reed Alumni Association in 1956–58 and vice president of the chapter in 1958–60. Survivors include his sister and an aunt.

Maxine Lesseg Zeller ’33

Maxine Lesseg Zeller ’33, February 23, 1997, in Portland, where she lived since graduating from Reed. She married Werner Zeller ’33 in 1934, who was studying medicine at the University of Oregon, and she studied and worked in the area of medical technology until the birth of their first child in 1939. She was primarily a homemaker and raised four children. She is survived by Werner and their two sons and daughters, eight grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.

Gail Yvonne Zimmerman Lent ’39

Gail Yvonne Zimmerman Lent ’39, April 26, 2008, in Portland, from cancer. Gail received a BA from Reed in general literature, and worked as an accountant for the state of Oregon. Survivors include her son and one grandchild.

Werner Emanuel Zeller ’33

Werner Emanuel Zeller ’33, March 6, 2008, in his daughter Katherine's home in Maywood Park, Oregon. Bud studied chemistry at Reed for three years before transferring to the University of Oregon. In the fall of his freshman year at Reed, he met Maxine L. Lesseg ’33; they married in 1934. Bud received an MD from the University of Oregon in 1937. Postdoctorate work consisted of internship and four years of orthopedic and surgery residency at Multnomah County, Shriner's, and Dornbecker hospitals. During World War II, Bud was a naval surgeon on the battleship U.S.S. Tennessee in the Pacific. In 1946, he started a private practice in surgery in Portland and worked at Providence and Woodland Park hospitals. He was a diplomat of the American Board of Surgery and a member of numerous surgical societies. He was an early member of the Portland Academy of Hypnosis, using hypnosis for postoperative pain relief, and was a charter member of the Portland Surgical Society. In 1976, he was elected as the first mayor of Maywood Park; he served for 11 years. In 1977, he was honored with lifetime membership in University of Oregon Health Sciences Center School of Medicine. Bud retired from his medical practice in 1996. In 2004, he was interviewed for the Reed Oral History Project by June E. Anderson ’49. Survivors include two daughters and two sons, eight grandchildren, and two-great grandchildren. Maxine died in 1997.

Michael Anthony Zerwas ’75

Michael Anthony Zerwas ’75 died from hypothermia in January 2010, in his backyard in Portland. The circumstances of his death were as mysterious as they were tragic. His body was discovered in a pit, which was filled with water, and a pair of green gardening shoes were found nearby. Detectives concluded that the pit, which was five feet wide and 35 feet deep, may have been an old cistern that had been covered and forgotten over time. The cistern's covering of board and dirt collapsed under Mike, and created an inescapable pit. Mike earned a BA from Reed in anthropology and worked as an investigator for the Metropolitan Public Defender in Portland for 20 years. According to his website, Gumshoe (www.mz-pi.com), he had been a private investigator since 2005.

David Thomas Zager ’74

A picture of David Zager

David Thomas Zager ’74, June 20, 2010, in Nashville, Tennessee, from cancer. David earned a BA from Reed in political science and went on to earn a JD from Memphis State Law School and an MBA from Columbia University. He was a successful lawyer and businessman and a beloved husband and father. Survivors include his wife, Kitzi, three daughters and three sons, two grandchildren, and his mother and two sisters.

Janet Ruth Zollinger Edwards ’46

Janet Ruth Zollinger Edwards ’46, April 19, 2002, in Seaside, Oregon. Several family members, including her parents, an aunt, and her sister, Elizabeth Zollinger ’48, were also alumni. She attended Reed for two years and married William G. Edwards in 1950. The couple raised three children, two daughters, and a son. Survivors include her sister.

Stella M. Savage Zamvil ’47

Stella M. Savage Zamvil ’47, May 11, 2013, in Palo Alto, California. Born in New York to Orthodox Jewish parents who had emigrated from Russia, Stella graduated from high school at the age of 15 and enrolled at Brooklyn College. In 1944, she married physician Louis Zamvil. His wartime military assignment to the Oregon Medical School (Oregon Health & Science University) brought Stella to Portland, where she studied English and Latin at Reed. She then completed a BA in English and creative writing at San Jose State and earned an MA in creative writing at San Francisco State. Stella taught Latin and poetry to middle and high school students and taught creative writing and film at several area junior colleges and senior centers. She published collections of short stories and poetry, including In the Time of the Russias; My Father Hunts Zulus, My Mother Puts Up Pickles; and Silently You Taught Me Much: and Other Poems. She and Louis were cofounders of Temple Beth Am in Los Altos Hills and Congregation Kol Emeth in Palo Alto. Stella was a choir member at Kol Emeth and also sang in the West Bay Opera. Survivors include two sons and a daughter, nine grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren.

H. Elizabeth Zollinger ’48

A picture of Elizabeth Zollinger in the role of Bizet's Carmen

H. Elizabeth Zollinger ’48, June 17, 2013, in Portland. The daughter of Clifford E. Zollinger ’21 and Helen E. Watt Zollinger ’21, niece of Marian Zollinger ’26, and sister of Janet R. Zollinger Edwards ’46, Betty was well prepared to undertake the rigors of a Reed education. She earned a BA from the college and an MA from the University of Oregon in biology and then taught biology to chiropractic students in Portland before moving to New York, where she worked at Columbia University as a tutor. Her passion was music. She performed in Gilbert & Sullivan operettas at Reed. After moving to New York, she found success as a singer, appearing in concerts; in operas such as Carmen, Aida, and Madama Butterfly; in theatre and musical productions; and in radio and television. She performed throughout the U.S., and in Germany, England, and Italy. “I wouldn’t be telling the truth if I said that show business was the simplest job in the world,” she said in an interview. “Still, it has been wonderful for me.” International Beaux Arts selected her as singer of the year in 1982. On her visits to Portland, she stayed with friends Wayne E. Kuhn ’25 and Agnes Lakie Kuhn ’27 and attended events on campus. Eva Lamfrom Labby ’51, who notified the college of Betty’s death, first met Betty at Grant High School in Portland. They performed together in operettas at Reed and maintained a friendship through the years. “She had the gift of a lovely mezzo soprano voice,” says Eva. “When she returned to Portland in 2006, in declining health, I accepted the position of having her power of attorney and spending time with her as often as I could. Alzheimer’s took away her memory bit by bit. She had retained her good attitude, graciousness, and especially good, loyal memories of her years at Reed, particularly talking about her Reed classmate Phiz Mezey ’48.

Jacob Zalim ’81

Jacob Vernon Zalim ’81, August 11, 1988. Jacob was killed by a truck in North Carolina during a biking trip around the United States. He earned a BA from Reed in political science, writing the thesis “Rousseau: Politics and the Soul” with adviser Prof. Stefan Kapsch [political science 1974–2005]. We learned of Jacob's death from his friend, Stephen Levien ’80, and in a search for biographical material, Stephen was able to locate a dedication to Jacob in Crescent of Betrayal (2007), a book written by Alec Rawls ’80. Alec wrote: “Jacob was my college roommate. He walked, bussed, and biked his way across every continent but Antarctica, barefoot when he could, a friendly 6’ 2” Yeti (with his large head, unruly tangle of hair, and ever widening beard) who could drain 20-foot jump-shots all day. He looked like no one else, but wherever he traveled, the people assumed he was one of them. Mexicans thought he was Mexican. Arabs thought he was Arab. Europeans thought he was European. Jews thought he was Jewish. Africans thought he was African. Russians thought he was Russian. Everybody wanted to claim him. Jake appeared to be a free spirit, but in fact was a fast and diligent scholar, always carrying a fresh collection of books as he studied the world up close. Much too early, the world lost one of its great autodidacts. How we could use you today, old friend.” Perpetual yahrzeits for Jacob are recited at Congregation Beth Israel in Corpus Christi, Texas. In addition, the Jacob Vernon Zalim Memorial Scholarship has been established to support students with financial need at Reed College.

Margaret Zundel Shirley ’55

January 25, 2019, in Portland, Oregon, of natural causes.

Margaret was a respected Northwest artist and a beloved art teacher for more than 40 years, inspiring students at Reed, Portland State University, Mt. Hood Community College, and Marylhurst University.

Read more...