|
ZIEGEL Kim Ziegel(66) died on May 7 in Royal Oakes, Michigan from complications of a massive stroke. Ziegel was a life-long resident of the Cincinnati area. He lived in Covington, KY for the last 8 years. Kim taught English and Sociology at Cincinnati State for 28 years, retired as a Professor Emeritus in 2007, and continued to teach parttime. Kim was an avid birder, photographer, biker and explorer of Ohio River Valley canals and rivers. He is survived by his father Kenneth Ziegel, step-mother PriscillaMacKnight Ziegel, partner Tammy Kramer, sisters Penny Ross, Patricia Timm, Jan Taylor, nephews Benjamin Ross, Jonathan Ross, Christopher Ross, Robin Kaspar and by nieces Molly Wesley-Chevalier, Rachel Homlar, Kate Sears-Giardina, Jennifer Timm, Rebecca Thigpen. Kim was predeceased by his mother Ruth Ziegel and his sister Elaine Kaspar. The celebration of Kim's life is an informal memorial gathering on Saturday, May 16, at 4:30 at Oak Ridge Lodge, Mt. Airy Forest at 5083 Colerain Avenue, Cincinnati. Memorial contributions may be made to the Kim Ziegel Memorial Scholarship Fund, Cincinnati State Foundation, Cincinnati State, Institutional Advancement Fund, Room 164, 3520 Central Parkway, Cincinnati, Ohio 45223 or to Northern Kentucky Greenway and Trails, South Bank Partners, 421 Monument St., Newport, KY 41071.
|
Carol G. Wasserman (Deanow)
About a decade ago, Kim and my step-sister Tammy Solway Kramer (WHHS '62) reconnected and were a couple from then on, managing a long-distance relationship between Kim in Cincinnati and Tammy in the Detroit area. So, I heard about Kim's last illness and its impact on Tammy and the rest of Kim's family fairly directly.
It was our Jr. year autobiography that brought them back together. Tammy and Kim had dated in high school (I hadn't known that) and Kim had evidently given Tammy a copy of his autobiography. Tammy found it while cleaning and tracked him down and sent it to him. The rest, as they say, is history.
I'd like to add some narrative to the obituary that has already been posted. This came from a small Lives Remembered article in the Cincinnati Enquirer by Rebecca Goodman. I think it captures Kim in a way that the straightforward obituary does not. I'll pick selectively from that article since much of it is repetition of what is already posted.
" Kim Ziegel, professor emeritus of English and sociology at Cincinnati State Technical and Community College, died Thursday, May 7, in Royal Oak, Mich., of complications from a massive stroke....
Mr Ziegel was born in Cincinnati. He was a magna cum laude graduate of Walnut Hills High School in 1961, a bachelor of arts graduate from New York's Columbia University in 1965 and a member of the Phi Beta Kappa fraternity's Delta Chapter also in New York. He received his master of arts from Indiana University in Bloomington and initiated his doctoral studies at Yale University.
Mr. Ziegel was a birder, a photographer, a biker and explorer of Ohio River Valley canals and rivers. His enormous intellect led him down paths of discovery about himself and his world. In the last year of his life, Mr. Ziegel was working to photograph the Miami and Erie Canal. His long list of birds, butterflies and dragon flies he sighted across the continent while traveling from the Pacific to the Atlantic would be the envy of any naturalist.
"'Kim will be remembered by his family as kind, quick-witted and generous,' said sister, Pat Timm. 'He was a great friend to his nieces and nephews who will remember him as fun and funny.'"
Rest in peace.