Cyril “Zeke” Zellmer passed away on Tuesday, March 19, 2019, after a long battle with his health. Services were held at LaGrone Funeral Chapel, with Howard Herring, deacon at St. Peter Catholic Church, officiating. Zeke will be interred at a later date with his wife, Wanda, in the columbarium at St. Peter.
Zeke was born on March 18, 1938, to Herman and Minnie (Kopetzky) Zellmer in Merrill, Wisconsin. He was the youngest of five children. A career Air Force man, he met Wanda Lewis while he was stationed at Walker Air Force Base in Roswell. They were married March 21, 1959, in the Walker Air Force Base chapel. Wanda preceded him in death on December 24, 2016. Zeke served in the Air Force for almost 22 years and was stationed at Tan Son Nhut Air Base during the Tet Offensive in 1968. He was honorably discharged from the Air Force upon his retirement in 1977. As a native of Wisconsin, Zeke was an avid Green Bay Packer fan and loved to listen to old-time country music. He was a member of the Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) and the Disabled American Veterans (DAV). While at the DAV post in San Angelo, TX., he would distribute free house slippers to nursing homes and other facilities in west Texas and New Mexico. He had a tender heart and loved helping people when he could, and he knew that these slippers could bring hope and a smile to someone in a nursing home. Zeke also helped coordinate rides from Roswell to the VA hospital in Albuquerque for a short time as part of the VVA.
Zeke was preceded in death by his wife, Wanda; his parents, Herman and Minnie Zellmer; his in-laws, Virgil and Florence Lewis; one brother, Warren Zellmer; sisters Mary Ann Blair and Phyllis Wallace; his brother-in-law, Ted Lewis and a long-time dear friend, Gene Fustos. Survivors include one brother, James Zellmer of Merrill; two daughters, Liz Huddle and husband Mark of Roswell, and Cathy Brady and husband Tom of San Angelo, TX; six grandchildren; one brother-in-law, Virgil “Hank” Lewis and his wife Debra of Arizona; and several nieces and nephews, including Cathy Robinson of Merrill.