John W. Ziliak, Jr., age 77, of Jasper, Indiana, passed away at 6:15 p.m. on Thursday, January 4, 2024, at St. Charles Health Campus in Jasper, Indiana.
John was born in Evansville, Indiana, to John and Dora (Mattingly) Ziliak on April 2, 1946. He married Kathleen Beckman on August 15, 1971, in St. Raphael Catholic Church in Dubois, Indiana.
John was a 1964 graduate of Rex Mundi High School in Evansville and a graduate of Purdue University, with degrees in Industrial Management and Mechanical Engineering. He was a U.S. Navy Veteran with tours served on the USS Ticonderoga off the coast of Vietnam and Korea where he performed electronic maintenance on A7 aircraft in squadron VA-87. John worked in Quality Assurance at CTS of Berne, Indiana; CTS of Paducah, Kentucky; Potter & Brumfield; and Hansen Corporation in Princeton, Indiana. He rebuilt and refurbished an 1870s era country home for his family in Paducah, Kentucky. An industrious gardener, John enjoyed playing cards, especially Bridge. His kids assumed all dads could “fix anything” because theirs could.
John was a member of the Jasper Knights of Columbus, the Purdue Club of Dubois County, the Purdue Reamer Club, and the American Legion Post #147, and was an officer in The American Society of Quality. He was a member of St. Mary Catholic Church in Ireland, Indiana, and he served as a Eucharistic minister and a lector for several other parishes.
John is survived by his wife, Kathleen Ziliak, Jasper, IN; his sons, Zach (Lisa) Ziliak, Chicago, IL; Zeke (Karen) Ziliak, Houston, TX; his daughter Zoe (Dan) Ziliak Michel, Silver Spring, MD; one granddaughter, Jillian Wren Ziliak, Chicago, IL; his brother, Bob (Cindy) Ziliak, Niles, MI; sisters, Dorothy Martin, Columbia, MO; Shirley Ankenbrand, Evansville, IN; and Kathy (Ron) Hollander, North Ft. Myers, FL.
Preceding him in death are his parents and two sisters, Jackie Schenk and Wanda Colvin.
A Mass of Christian Burial for John W. Ziliak, Jr. will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, January 10, 2024, at St. Mary Catholic Church in Ireland, Indiana. The committal service will be held after Mass in church. Burial will take place later at St. Raphael Catholic Church Cemetery in Dubois, Indiana.
A visitation will be held from 11:00 a.m. until the 1:00 p.m. Mass time at St. Mary Catholic Church on Wednesday.
Memorial contributions may be made to the wishes of the family or to a favorite charity. Online condolences may be made at www.becherkluesner.com.
