Richard “Dick” Zacker, 70, of Kenosha, died Sunday, November 23, 2014, peacefully in his home.

Born April 30, 1944 in Chicago, IL, he was the only child of Joseph and Bernice (Molinowski) Zachwieja.

He grew up in the Humboldt Park neighborhood of Chicago and graduated from Weber High School where he excelled at athletics, particularly basketball. He convinced his parents to change their last name to Zacker in large part due to basketball announcers repeatedly butchering his name during high scoring games.

He later graduated from the Dental Laboratory program at the Elkhart University of Medical and Dental Technique in Indiana.

On June 2, 1967, in Chicago, he married Ann Loytsz, his high school sweetheart.

He moved to Kenosha in 1969 where he owned and operated a successful dental lab, crafting dentures and partials for local dentist’s patients.

He became an avid golfer for a time and won several championships at the Bristol Oaks Country Club league in the 1970s. He later turned his attention to coaching his sons youth sports and becoming involved in their Cub Scout organization. He took particular joy in building pine wood derby cars, which netted several 1st place finishes for his sons. He was also a passionate Oldsmobile enthusiast, piloting an Olds Cutlass as his daily driver for the past 41 consecutive years.

His wife preceded his death in 1995 and he struggled in her absence. He took great joy attending his granddaughter’s youth sports in recent years. The kids, parents and coaches of those teams provided him with years of enjoyment.

Surviving are his two sons, Michael (Erin Grunnet) Zacker, of Pleasant Prairie and Ronald (Melanie) Zacker of Bayside, his granddaughter Meghan Zacker, and a very recent addition to the family, his grandson August Zacker. Dick is also survived by many loving nieces and nephews.

Service Info

Funeral services will be held on Saturday, November 29, 2014 at 12 Noon at the Piasecki Althaus Funeral Home. Interment will take place in Elmwood Cemetery, River Grove, IL.