Joseph Zigan

1938 - 2016

Joseph Raymond Zigan

Lincoln —78, passed away August 20, 2016 after battling cancer for 18 months. Joe was born in Great Falls, Mont., June 14, 1938 to Mary Cislo Zigan and Raymond John Zigan. He grew up on the Lower Northside and attended St. Mary's Grade School and Central Catholic HighSchool. He graduated in 1957.

Joe served as an altar boy for 8 years at St. Ann's Cathedral and was specially chosen to serve as altar boy for Bishop Schuster. As a boy Joe had a great love of sports. He participated in basketball and football at school and played baseball in the summer. He started working for wages when he was just 10 years old. He worked at The Heisey Memorial Center setting up the boxing ring for Golden Gloves and occasional professional bouts that came to Great Falls. He then worked in the bowling alley there. He would jokingly say that he was the "foulline." He would sit to one side of the lanes and push a button if someone stepped over the line. He said that sometimes he would fall asleep and they'd have to wake him. He also rented out shoes and set pins by hand. When Joe was 12 or 13 he went to work at The Great Falls Tribune stuffing comics and sales circulars into the Sunday paper. At around 14 he started working summers in the pressroom while still performing his duties for the Sunday paper. He helped print the comics and The Great Falls Leader.

He then worked at Buttrey Foods as a box out boy until he was 17. He began a printing apprenticeship with Blend's Copy Shop during his senior year of high school. Joe joined the Navy Reserve in 1956 with his buddy John Ferda. They went to Boot Camp together in San Diego and returned for their senior year. After graduation, when Joe reported for duty, they told him he was 4F due to his eyesight without glasses. It took John many years to get over having to go active duty Navy without his enlistment buddy. But then Joe was drafted in 1958 and went active duty in 1959. This was quite a surprise since he had previously been declared 4F. He served at Treasure Island, Calif. and was then transferred to duty on the destroyer U.S.S. Duncan out of San Diego. As soon as he reported to the Duncan, he was shipped to the Far East for 9 months' duty. On his return from the Far East he served on another destroyer, the U.S.S. Hollister in Long Beach, Calif. He was honorably discharged in May 1962 and went to work at A&A Printers for John Soltesz. He was later a minor partner in the business until 1974. He then worked briefly at The Quickest Printer in Town and then went to Advanced Litho Printing for 5 years.

In 1976 Joe began his second military career when he joined the Montana Air National Guard (MANG) as a traditional Guardsman. In 1980 he began full-time employment at MANG in the Reproduction Department and later served as supervisor of the Audio-Visual Department until 1998 when he retired as a SMSgt. In 1958 he married Laureen Sand. They had three sons, Doug, Dave and Dan. They later divorced. On May 29, 1972 he married Jo Anne (Joey) Brown Dietrich in Medicine Hat, Alb., Canada. She had a son, Keith, 4 and a daughter, Heather, 2. Joe adopted her children within the first 6 weeks of their marriage. Joe and Joey worked together in the printing business. They also shared a common interest in bowling, pool, camping, boating, fishing, traveling and classic cars. They loved to dress in costume for Halloween and St. Patrick's Day and any other festive occasions. Joe was active as a Little League coach, Scoutmaster, Meadow Gold Basketball coach and Y Indian Guide member. He loved all sports and was active in softball until age 50+. He also participated in basketball, football, bowling, volleyball, pool, horseshoes, golf, tennis, handball, fishing, and boating. His favorite hobby was collecting and restoring classic cars. And JUNK. Joe loved junk. He referred to his junk as his treasures and he loved garage sales, thrift stores and the dollar store. He did not like the word "hoarder" and much preferred "collector." Everywhere he lived he had to erect a pole barn to house all his treasures. He was active in Altar Society at St. Joseph's Catholic School and Church for 7 years. He was also involved in BPOE Elks, Fraternal Order of Eagles and the Moose Club. He was a member of Altered Classics Car Club until his move to Lincoln in 2001.

Joe and Joey bought a cabin in Lincoln, Mont. in October 1996. Joe retired from MANG in 1998 and they spent a great deal of time at their cabin. When Joey retired in 2000 they took a trip to see if there was a place they'd like to move to. No place equaled Montana for them. They returned home, sold their house in Great Falls and moved to Lincoln where they have resided since. Joe was a fun-loving prankster. Many fell victim to his mischief over the years. We did find, however, that he could dish it out but not necessarily take it. But he loved to have fun with friends and family and was like a big kid, no matter what age the calendar claimed he was. He had boundless energy and amazed us all with his ability to do demanding physical labor well into his 70s before his cancer diagnosis. Joe is survived by his wife Joey, sons Doug (Becky) of Great Falls; Dave (Lana) of East Helena; Dan of Great Falls; Keith (Susan) of Lincoln and daughter Heather (Shane) Estep of Avondale, Ariz.; seven grandchildren: Josh, Amanda, Samantha, Adam, Brian, Britani and Hailey. Also surviving are a brother, Al and a sister, Rayleen (Jerry) Ouellett, both of Great Falls. He was preceded in death by his parents, a brother Frank and a brother Tom.

Retz Funeral Home in Helena handled the cremation. Burial will be at Montana State Veterans Cemetery, Fort Harrison, Helena, Mont., at a future date. Per Joe's wishes, there will not be a funeral.

Memorials are suggested to any organization that supports youth sports.