Karl Edwin Zink

1917 - 2008

A memorial service will be performed at 10:30 AM Saturday, May 17, at Grace Episcopal Church for Karl Edwin Zink, who died at home on May 10 at age 91. Karl is survived by his wife, Constance Kindermann Zink, his daughters Constance Dyer, Katharine Stearns, and Laura Zink de Diaz, his nieces Susan Carney Hays and Miriam (Mimi) Ansley Carney, and five grand-children.

Karl was born in Gainesville, Florida, March 22, 1917. He graduated from the University of Florida with a BA in English(1939), MA, Ohio State University (1940), Ph.D, University of Washington (1952).

At the onset of World War II, Karl enlisted in the Navy and served as lieutenant in communications for CINCPAC in the Pacific. At the close of the war, Karl met his future wife on arriving – without his papers – at the Miami receiving station where she was Captain's Writer. They were married within 6 weeks. For 62 years, Connie was his "lady sweet and kind" whose "gesture, motion, and her smiles, her wit, her voice, [his] heart beguiles".

Karl inspired and entertained students for over 30 years, teaching 20th century American literature (his specialty was Faulkner), Old and Middle English (including Chaucer), and dramatic literature and poetry of all periods. He made grammar accessible and fun for his children and countless graduate students. His outside interests included swimming, building ship and airplane models, reading history, archaeology (and of course, fiction) and enjoying every kind of music.

Karl began teaching at Florence State Teacher's College in Alabama (1952-54), then taught for 14 years and served as Assistant Chair at Indiana University Northwest Campus in Gary, Indiana (1954-68). He traveled with the family to Greece under a Fulbright grant to teach at the University of Thessaloniki (1960-61). After delivering a popular series of lectures and readings on Faulkner, post-war trends in American literature and beat generation poetry at major Yugoslavian universities, he was invited to teach at the University of Belgrade under a joint program of Indiana University and the US State Department. In 1968 he accepted the position of Department Chairman in English at Central Washington University where he remained until his retirement in 1982. Karl served as a member of the vestry at Grace Church in Ellensburg, chaired the liturgical commission, and was a delegate to the diocesan convention in 1973.

After retiring, Karl and Connie lived in Mountlake Terrace, WA, volunteering much of their time to managing and working in the Mountlake Terrace Food Bank at the Terrace View Presbyterian Church. They returned to Ellensburg in 2006 to be closer to family.