Paul J. Zelanski

1931 - 2015

Paul Zelanski, 84, of Willington, passed away Monday, July 20, 2015, after a brave fight with cancer. Born in Hartford on April 13, 1931 to Zophia and John Zelanski, Paul was the youngest of 3 children. His siblings, Edward and Tessie predeceased him. Paul attended Cooper Union in NYC in 1950. Recieved a BFA at Yale, and an MFA at Bowling Green State University. He taught art at North Texas State University in Denton, TX for 4 years and at the University of CT in Storrs, from 1962 until he retired in 1995. Paul taught the first color class, first graphic design class, and in the early 80s he started the computer graphics program. Paul wrote 4 college textbooks, Design Principles and Problems, Shaping Space, The Art of Seeing, and Color. Each has multiple editions, and are still being used globally. They've been translated to French, Spanish, Dutch, Chinese, Korean, and Japanese. He has been in exhibitions around the globe and was a visiting professor in Holland and Poland. Paul is survived by his wife of 50 years, Annette (Harding) Zelanski, and their three children: son John Zelanski and fiancé Tammy Bowman, daughter Noemi Zelanski Kearns and husband Ted Kearns, daughter Ruth Zelanski and husband Ron Lambert, as well as a daughter from a previous relationship, Suzy Kessler and her husband Dean. There are 6 grandchildren: Nolan, Zophia, Sadie Bea, Meret, Milou, and Ali. Paul is also survived by his niece Debbie Sacharek and her children Kelly Thompson Lopez and Lucas Nelson, nieces Jean and Kathy Zelanski and nephew Alan Zelanski. Memorial service August 17, at The Benton Museum at UConn from 4-8pm. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Mansfield Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation, 100 Warren Circle, Storrs, CT 06268 or to "The Paul Zelanski Award of Excellence Fund" at the UConn Fine Art Department. Please make checks payable to: The UConn Foundation, Inc., 2390 Alumni Drive Unit 3206, Storrs, CT 06269. A note accompanying the check should state it is a gift made in memory of Paul Zelanski. www.paulzelanski.com