Obituary of Herbert P. Zschokke

Herbert P. Zschokke, entered eternal life on Sunday morning, Sept. 24, 2017. The beloved husband of the late Elizabeth (Frink) he had just celebrated his 88th birthday on Sept. 16. Herbert was born in St. Paul Minnesota. He was raised and educated in St. Paul, attending Cretin High School. He was the oldest of eight children born to the late Herbert and Adelaide Zschokke. Herb served in the United States Air Force, achieving the rank of Staff Sargent. While stationed at Chanute Air Force Base in Illinois, he met his future wife Betty, who was also in the Air Force. They married in 1953 and moved to Massachusetts in 1955, where they raised their family. Herb returned to college and obtained his Bachelor Degree from Northeastern University. He had a successful career working for the State of Massachusetts as a Manager in the Unemployment Office. He retired after over 30 years of service. Herb was very active in serving the youth of Malden. He coached Babe Ruth League baseball and was a Cub Scout leader. He became District Commissioner for the Boy Scouts Minuteman Council, earning the Silver Beaver Award for his service to the Scouts. Herb loved music and loved to sing. He sang tenor in the choir at Sacred Hearts Parish and with the Wakefield Community Chorus. He loved opera and would travel to New York city to catch the Metropolitan Opera. Herb and Betty loved to travel. They went on trips to Minnesota and Colorado to visit family and sight see historical areas, and on history tours with the Civil War Round Table. Herb was a history buff. He had a thirst for knowledge of history related to the Civil War era and Native American Cultures. He shared his knowledge of history with family, friends and even at New Horizons where his talks always drew a large crowd. Herb was a past president of the Civil War Round Table where he made many lifelong friends. Herbie will be remembered as having an outgoing and fun personality. He was a man devoted to his family and his faith. He was a very proud father, uncle, grandfather and great grandfather. Herbert was the beloved husband of the late Elizabeth. Loving father of Mary DeWitt & her husband Michael of Burlington, Paul & his wife Deborah of CO, Peter & his late wife Jennifer of Southborough & Christine of Acton. Proud grandfather of Alicia LePage, Matt DeWitt and Michael, Kyle and Ben Zschokke. Great grandfather of Brooklyn LePage and Joanna DeWitt. Brother of Richard of CA, Adelaide, Thomas & James of MN and the late MaryAnn Brandt, Joseph and William. Beloved Uncle Herbie to many nieces and nephews. Funeral from the Edward V Sullivan Funeral Home, 43 Winn St., BURLINGTON (Exit 34 off Rt. 128/95 side) on Friday, Sept. 29 at 8:45 a.m. Followed by a Mass of Christian Burial in Sacred Hearts Church, 297 Main St, Malden at 10 a.m. Visiting hours Thursday 4-8 p.m. Interment will be private. Memorial Service will be held at the Church of St. Bernard, 187 Geranium Ave W, St. Paul, Minnesota, on Saturday, October 21, 2017, at 10:30 am. Family Remembrance by Paul “Do the best you can, while thinking of others” Herb Zschokke was my father. A gruff old German. Ma used to tease that even as a young man, he was a gruff old German. The first time you met him- maybe you weren’t certain what he thought of you. Jerry Cargill and Kate Phaneuf know well what I mean. I could not say how many times sophomore year in high school Jerry asked me, “Do you think your Dad likes me?” But, before long, Jerry would grin when Dad bellowed, “Not him again!”, and Kate would just smile when she heard, ”Is she back?” They both learned to just give it back to him! “Just here to bug you, Mr. Zschokke!” They recognized the grumpy old German was telling them that they belonged. While recently emptying documents on an old laptop, I came across one of Michael’s writings. When he was in fifth grade, Michael interviewed my mother, and wrote a biography. The next year, he asked if he should do it with my father. Michael asked Dad what was the best piece of advice he could give. Dad said, “Do the best you can, while thinking of others.” Dad truly lived by that principle. He lived his life for others. I don’t recall a single instance of him refusing to help when asked. He helped when not asked. Whether with him in his offfice, or walking through Malden Square, watching people’s reactions to him showed me the respect and care that Dad had for them. “Do the best you can, while thinking of others.” I was in Colorado when Dad got a call from one of my college professors, whom Dad had never met. It seemed his wife was attending courses at Harvard, the professor was looking for advice on how his wife could get from the airport to Cambridge. They called because I was the only person he knew from Boston. Dad’s response was, “When is her flight?”. Dad and Ma picked her up, drove her to Harvard, helped her get settled, picked her up for two family picnics during the summmer, and drove her back to the airport at the end of the session. Without hestitation, when a former student of mine called the house from Tufts for directions, he went over and took her where she needed to go. She also ended up at a couple of family gatherings. “Do the best you can, while thinking of others.” And family? Anything you needed. Gram, Janie, Mariellen, Richard, Kathleen, all the cousins. Someone to fish with. Countless errands. Moving, painting, renovating. He ached for his beloved Minnesota. He longed to be able to do the same things for family out there. He told Michael it was his greatest sorrow. When Mark Sims sat talking with Dad one day, Mark noted, “You really miss St. Paul, don’t you?” The statement was answered by an emphatic, slow, quiet nod. Mark asked why he had never moved back to Minnesota. Dad said, “Five reasons.” And did not need to say more. Liz, Marybeth, Paul, Peter, and Christine. Whether a bassoon, or trips planned around zoos all over the country, or starting a baseball team or a Cub Scout pack so you could join, to scratching to get me through Don Bosco, which probably saved my life, he would do anything for his kids and his family. “Do the best you can, while thinking of others.” Several years ago, a student asked what my favorite Christmas gift was when I was young. I wracked my brain. There is only one gift I remember. A baseball. Dad was laid off again, struggling to find work. He was hired temporarily for nights and weekends at a toy store for Christmas, so we rarely saw him. On Christmas morning, there was a baseball in my stocking. That baseball is the only gift I can recall from my Christmases. I recognize that the reason it stays with me is because it symbolizes the sacrifice that Dad put in for us. All of us, family and friends, have been influenced by Herb Zschokke. He showed, through example, how all of us should treat one another. We are his legacy, we are his gift to the world. “Do the best you can, while thinking of others.”