Obituary of Benjamin Zvolanek

Benjamin F Zvolanek Benjamin F Zvolanek passed away Sunday July 19, 2009 at his home in Tumwater at the age of 91. Ben was born in Ellsworth Kansas to Frank and Lydia Zvolanek on the 5th of May 1918 weighing in at 5lbs. 5ozs. Ben married Dorothy (Dotty) Nelson February 9th 1941, the same year he was drafted into the Army. In 1942 he was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant. During his military tenure, he served as a Regimental Personnel Adjutant and Infantry Company Commander for the 300th Infantry and was a US Army Headquarters Liaison Officer in Fort Devens, Mass. His last detail was with the US Army Duty Headquarters Budget Office in Alaska. He completed his military service reaching the rank of Major. Ben was employed with the US Govt. Service as an Island Manager, Deputy US Marshall and US Island Administrator on Canton Island in the South Pacific Ocean. He also worked at the Civilian Personnel Office HQ US Army located in Anchorage Alaska. His government service career continued with the FAA where he was assigned to five regions including the Headquarters in Washington, DC. He managed the Fairbanks International Airport when Alaska was still a US Territory. He facilitated the management transfer of the FIA to the State of Alaska when it became the 49th state in 1959. He served in the Personnel Office of the FAA, Anchorage Region, the Personnel Office Headquarters and as the Director of Training for the FAA in Washington, DC. He retired from the Executive Office of the Anchorage Region in 1974. Ben served his community as a Presbyterian Church Elder, founder & trustee of the Anchorage Community Chest, a member of the American Legion and a life member of the Elks Club. He was a champion trap shooter, a partner in Alaska's first golf driving range, and owned a hobby business in Anchorage named Hobby Lobby which can be viewed in archival films of destruction caused by the 1964 Anchorage earthquake. Ben is survived by Dotty, his wife of 68 years, their two sons Alan and Ken, three grandchildren and two great-grand children. A family burial service will be held at the Tahoma National Cemetery, Kent WA. Charitable memorials may be made to the Salvation Army. P.O. Box 173 Olympia, WA 98507 To leave a condolence for the family, click on View Guestbook below: