Donald W. Zahnke ’45 died on January 13, 2024, in Acworth, Georgia.
(The following was provided by Roswell Funeral Home in January 13, 2024:)
Donald W. Zahnke ’45
Donald Warren Zahnke, D.D.S. (100) of Wethersfield Connecticut, beloved husband of Martha Moody Zahnke for sixty-five years, died Saturday, January 13, at his home in Acworth, Georgia.
Dr. Zahnke, son of Gertrude Johnson Zahnke and G. Theodore Zahnke, was born on July 18, 1923 in Bristol, Connecticut. He graduated from Bristol High School where he was an Eagle Scout, from Bowdoin College with a BA degree and from Temple University Dental School where he received a Doctor of Dental Surgery degree.
Dr. Zahnke served for three years during WWII as a naval radio operator on the USS Matthew P. Deady in the Asiatic-Pacific Theatre. He received a Bronze Star for his heroic combat service in November 1944 when his ship was repeatedly attacked by Japanese suicide bombers off the coast of Leyte, Philippine Islands. During the Korean War he served as a first lieutenant in the Army Dental Corps. Upon completing his military service in 1953, he returned to Wethersfield and established a dental practice where he served the community for forty-two years.
He was a member of the First Church of Christ, Congregational, the Hartford Dental Society, American Dental Association, the Wethersfield Country Club, Connecticut Seniors Golf Association, a former member of the Greater Hartford Jaycees and the Wethersfield Civitan Club. During his retirement he enjoyed golf, duplicate bridge, traveling, opera and his children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.
Donald is survived by two daughters and a son-in-law, Deborah Zahnke Maier and her husband, George, and Leslie Zahnke Carroll, one granddaughter, Elizabeth Maier, two grandsons and a granddaughter-in-law, Brian Maier and his wife, Kaia, and Roger Carroll, one great-granddaughter, Maeve Maier, and one great grandson, Rowan Maier. He is preceded in death by his two sisters, Lois Zahnke Wagennecht and Marlene Zahnke Hoerle, and a grandson, Thomas Warren Carroll.