Joe Zinn
Joseph Henry "Joe" Zinn, 93, was born April 29, 1909, three miles northwest of Lost Springs. He died at the Herington Lutheran Home Aug. 31, 2002.
He was the son of John Henry Zinn and Bertha Elizabeth (Scott) Zinn. His parents were raised near Sedalia, Pettis County, Mo. Little Joey was one year old when his parents decided to move back to the hills near Sedalia. His father was a water well driller. Joe's Grandmother Scott ran a little country store "there in the hollow."
Little Joey was baptized at the one-room Union church which served all Protestant faiths. The Zinn and Scott families professed to be Presbyterians.
Joe's brother, Scottie Francis Zinn, was born in Pettis County, Mo., after the John Zinn family moved back to the hollow. Scottie died Nov. 10, 1988.
Joe's parents moved back to Lost Springs in 1926 when Joe was 17 so he could get an education by attending Lost Springs High School. He had hoped to go to college to become a teacher, but (after graduation) his father needed Joe's help with the gas and water well drilling business. Drilling and farming became his way of life.
During the early 1950s, Joe ran a small sawmill operation between Burdick and Diamond Springs. His father had run a sawmill when living on their farm near Sedalia years earlier.
Joe cut and planed enough lumber to build a large garage with workshop after he and his mother moved into Lost Springs in 1950.
Joe enjoyed many hobbies. He whittled on wood pieces that turned out to be coyotes, birds, little wooden shoes, or whatever fit his fancy. He would give the carvings to children and friends.
Joe enjoyed hunting and fishing and belonged to several gun clubs. He was an avid reader of sports magazines, western novels, and mechanics magazines. He bowled in younger years.
He was a member of many associations including the National Rifle Association and the Tri County Historical Society and Museum.
For many years Joe traveled with friends over the Southwest to fish. He greatly enjoyed Indian lore all his long life, visiting among the tribes when on his yearly trips.
Being musically talented, he entertained whenever he was asked to play. His favorite instrument was the violin which he called his "fiddle," but he also played the banjo, mandolin, and guitar. The most requested songs were "Pretty Red Wing," "Westphalia Waltz," Johnny Horton's "Battle of New Orleans," and "Raggedy Ann."
Playing instruments wasn't enough. He took others under his wing and taught them how to play and perform with him. He repaired stringed instruments for friends. When a music store said an instrument couldn't be fixed, it ended up at his house even if a part had to be hand made. Sometimes he had to hunt up an old cow horn so he could shape it into parts he could use for repairs.
Joe was fond of children. His nieces and nephews always wanted to take turns staying with Nanny and Uncle Joe. All the "grown children" in Lost Springs and Herington still fondly call him Uncle Joe. He taught them the kind of education children don't get today.
Joe's father died Jan. 3, 1948, just five days short of his 66th birthday. Joe then cared for his aged mother 25 years after the death of his father.
He retired from the well drilling business at age 75. The Zinn Water Well and Pump Service business was turned over to his nephew, Joseph Arlen, who learned the trade from Uncle Joe.
Survivors are his sister-in-law Patricia Brosseau Zinn, Lost Springs; and her children Joseph Arlen Zinn and wife Rose, Lost Springs; Rebecca and Frank Lehnherr, Emporia; Jacqueline Schlesener and the late Gary Schlesener, Eldon, Mo.; Donald Louis and Mary Zinn, Emporia; Barbara and Garland Cook, Lyndon; many nieces and nephews, great-nieces and nephews; and friend and companion Virginia Brunner.
The pioneer spirit of Joe Zinn will live on in the minds and hearts of all those who knew him.
Funeral services were held at 10:30 a.m. Sept. 7, at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Herington. Officiating were Pastor Bennie Rosell, Salina, and Pastor Linda Diepenbrock, Herington.
Burial was at the Lost Springs cemetery with Donahue Funeral Home in charge of interment.
(compensated obituary)
