Zane C. Zander, age 88, of Brillion, passed away on Thursday afternoon, March 9, 2023, following a lengthy battle with cancer.
He was born on December 24, 1934, in Manitowoc, the eldest child of Elliot and Margaret Specht Zander of Brillion. Graduating in 1952 from Brillion High School, he continued his education graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Stout in 1957. He taught Industrial Arts Education for one semester before being drafted into the U.S. Army in January of 1958 where he served in the 1st Cavalry, 38th Parallel.
In Korea he served as a Private and was promoted to a Specialist 5. After completing his two years of enlisted duty, he returned to Brillion and joined the U.S. Army Reserve in Manitowoc as a 2nd Lieutenant. He retired with 20 years of service in 1978 as a Major.
Zane worked for his father at The Brillion News and on April 1, 1973, he and his brother Noel purchased the newspaper and Zander Press, Inc. During his 32-year tenure as the President/Co-owner of Zander Press Inc., he grew the business substantially and retired in 2005, selling the corporation to the fourth generation of Zanders, his four children.
In addition to running the company and printing sales, Zane was responsible for ad sales for the Lake to Lake Shopper and The Brillion News.
On November 25, 1961, Zane married Carol Sodergren. They had four children: daughters Elizabeth, Darcy and Kristine, and son Michael.
As a newspaperman, he was an unofficial historian of Brillion and seemed to know the backstory of every family and business in Brillion area over the past 100 years. In October of 2021, Zane was honored by receiving the Michael S. Ariens Community Leadership Award.
Zane is survived by his wife of 61 years, Carol Zander; his children: daughter Beth Wenzel of Brillion and her children, daughter Darcy Zander-Feinauer (Dale) of Oshkosh and their children, daughter Kris Bastian (TJ) of Brillion and their children and son Mike Zander (Heather) of Provo, Utah, and their children. He was preceded in death by his parents, his brother Noel and grandson, Tyler Wenzel.
