Obituaries

On November 7, 2024, Theodore Manthey Zorn, 88, passed away peacefully in St. Louis after a brief stay in hospice. His son Will and grandson Ted were at his side. He followed his wife Suzie’s passing by eight months and thus has again joined the woman he loved and was married to for 62 years. He was a light-hearted, learned, and good man who will be sorely missed.

Ted was born on January 5, 1936, in Neyyoor, in the Kanyakumari district of the Tamil Nadu state during the period that his parents, long-time residents of St. Louis, Robert Zorn and Irmgard (Fuerbringer) Zorn, were working in India as Lutheran missionaries. His early life, like those of his siblings Jean, Bob, and Tim, was largely based in India while his parents pursued their mission. As noted in an essay, written by his namesake grandson in 2009, “In his childhood my grandpa lived in India. He liked to play outdoor and indoor games such as Monopoly, Checkers, and Hide and Seek. For education he went to a boarding school two days away from his home. It was a two story school house with grades 1-4 downstairs and grades 5-8 up. They always ate dinner together at his school. He thought the campus was nice.” The elder Ted continued at the Kodaikanal International School, where he developed an appreciation for scholarship and graduated from high school there, though the family occasionally returned to St. Louis for extended stays.

Back in the United States, he received his Bachelor of Arts from Valparaiso University in 1957 and then joined the US Army for his conscription. The US was not involved in any hot wars and Ted was stationed in Paris, where he appreciated the relatively sweet gig. He was clearly dependable and his main duty was being the driver for a General. Never mind that he had to learn how to drive effectively on the job – he would recall stalling the General’s car on Parisian roundabouts as he quickly taught himself the vagaries of manual transmission Jeep motoring. In 1959, after receiving an Honorable Discharge he returned to his studies on the GI Bill at Washington University in St. Louis, completing his PhD in English Literature. At Wash U. he met Suzanne Teasdale, an enchanting fellow student, nearly nine-years his senior, with two-year-old boy, Christopher. They were married on August 12, 1961, and a son, Andrew, was born in October, 1962. Ted then accepted a teaching offer at Georgetown University and the young family moved to Washington DC where their third son, William, was born in January, 1966. A job offer at the University of Minnesota in 1967 caused the family of five to move back to the Midwest and spend the next 33 years in Minneapolis, MN. In the early-1970s, Ted grew weary of the repetition of teaching and instead started running the household while Suzie returned to work. It was a very unusual role for a husband at that time, and the boys often were asked by classmates “is your Dad your Mom?” After several years of homemaking, he returned to work at the University of Minnesota in several non-teaching capacities until retiring from its Chemical Engineering and Materials Science Department in 2001.

Ted, like his wife Suzie, was a good cook and produced a weekly family dinner menu that showcased his signature curry dishes, taco night, and, naturally, spaghetti night. Pancakes for breakfast on cold school day mornings were a staple. Athletically, he was in the avant-garde as a nearly life-long tennis player. He was playing at least three times a week when the 1970s tennis fad took-off. No longer did he need to switch to squash in the winter, as the indoor courts in the Twin Cities proliferated. He would take the family to swim at the local racquet clubs while he played. He embraced his life, and while he brought a hint of Lutheran stoicism to his otherwise easy-going air, he was quick to laugh, giggle actually, and was known as a delightful and amused audience. He was smart, kind, and funny to the friends of his children, and the myriad neighborhood kids.

Ted was involved in local politics as a committed Democrat and acted as treasurer for several local politicians campaigns. Life in Minnesota was enriched with long-time friendships with fellow University professors, doctors, and administrators and their families. Ted and Suzie’s dinner parties were renowned; with drinks and discussions of literature and politics sometimes lasting into the wee hours. Family travel from that time included memorable family road-trips; a tour of the Badlands and Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, visits to St. Louis, and a longer trip through the Southwest US. Ted and Suzie also later enjoyed touring Italy, England, Germany and other European destinations.

To say Ted was a life-long lover and supporter of the arts is an understatement. It has been postulated that his goal was to review all the literature, art, and music in the Western Canon. He came close. He read everything he could, the newspaper, several magazines, the NY Times bestsellers, classical literature, newsletters, PTA minutes, cereal boxes, everything. His musical taste was similarly diverse; he listened to the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Leo Kotke, Herbie Hancock, Glenn Gould, and Bach. Ted and Suzie were members and frequent attendees of the Walker Art Center, the Guthrie Theatre, the Minneapolis Institute of Art, and the Red Eye Theater. Upon their return to St. Louis in 2001, Ted and Suzie became regular attendees at The Repertory Theatre, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, and the Union Avenue Opera. They also frequented the Saint Louis Art Museum, the Contemporary Art Museum and various other galleries and museums in and around town.

Ted is survived by his brothers Robert Zorn, Timothy Zorn and his wife Janis (Myers) Zorn; three sons and their spouses, Christopher and Sandra (Fjerkenstad) Budel, Andrew and Amy (Mizrahi) Zorn, William and Stephanie (Opp) Zorn; and four grandchildren, Nicolette, Jocelyn, Quentin, and Theodore. He was loved by all who knew him.

A memorial service and burial will be held at Bellefontaine Cemetery and Arboretum on Saturday, January 18, 2024, at noon. All are welcome. After the service, family and friends are invited to an informal celebration of life at Bar Italia Ristorante, 13 Maryland Plaza, St. Louis, MO, 63108 from 1:30 p.m. until 5:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, the family invites you to make a donation to your favorite non-profit arts organization or progressive cause.