John Philips Zerega

ZEREGA John Philips (Phil) Zerega, age 81, of Fairfield died peacefully on January 6, 2010 at the Carolton Convalescent Hospital. Phil was born in Plainfield, NJ, attended the Taft School, the Georgia Institute of Technology and received a BFA in Industrial Design from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1952. Phil was a direct descendant of Lucas van Uytendale who was knighted Baron von Bretton by the King of Denmark in the early 1700's and later appointed Governor of the island of St. Thomas. His flying buddies often referred to Phil by his title- Baron von Bretton. In the mid-1800's Phil's great-great grandfather, Augustus diZerega, operated the "Z Line", a fleet of clipper ships sailing out of New York to Europe and the Orient. Zerega Avenue in the Bronx was named for Augustus. A noteworthy ancestor on his mother's side, Joseph Hewes, signed the Declaration of Independence and was the first Secretary of the Navy. Phil's real love was flying and he earned his pilot's license at age 16. He was commissioned 1st LT in the USAF and trained to fly B-26 bombers at the time of the Korean War. Instead of Korea, he was sent to Europe and assigned to NATO as an AT-6 instructor pilot in Landsberg, Germany retraining German, Italian and Danish pilots. After his discharge Phil, his wife Cecily and son Mark moved to Fairfield where daughter Libby was born. He was employed by Sikorsky Aircraft as an engineer designing cockpits, often working directly with Igor Sikorsky. He built dozens of helicopter models for engineering studies and display. Later he did design consulting and built industrial models for several local engineering companies. Phil attended the Oshkosh Air Show for many years, often flying there in a friend's airplane. Phil built his own airplane, a single-seat Star Lite, in 1988 for which he won a "Best Homebuilt" award at an EAA fly-in. As a licensed glider pilot, he often took his son Mark soaring and taught him to fly. During his school years, Phil was a soccer player and gymnast. A lifelong skier, sailor and tennis player; he also enjoyed golf and bowling. He sailed in the Newport-Bermuda and Halifax ocean races. He was a member of the Fairfield Beach Club, Bachelor's Comfort and Married Men's Retreat and the Pequot Yacht Club. His avocation was messing about in boats, construction and remodeling projects, and diagnosing and fixing anything broken. In 1962 he built a 24' Dolphin class sloop, which the family sailed for many summers. He also built catamarans and restored many storm-damaged boats which he bought from insurance companies. Phil will be remembered as a quiet friend who was always willing to lend a hand on any project, especially if it had to do with boats. In addition to his wife of 57 years, Cecily, he is survived by his sisters Virginia Lloyd of Newton, PA and Elizabeth Brown of Mount Pleasant, SC; son Mark Zerega and his wife Ceci of Yarmouth, ME; daughter Libby Williamson and her husband Jack of Villa Park, CA; and his grandchildren, Katie Zerega of Marblehead, MA, Megan Zerega of Yarmouth, ME, Katie Williamson, Jack Williamson, and Sam Williamson of Villa Park, CA; as well as many in-laws, nieces and nephews. The family wishes to express their gratitude to Dr. Peter Tortora, Dr. Joel Kunkel, the staff at Carolton Hospital and Evie Craighead for their care and compassion. A memorial service will take place Saturday, January 16 at 1:00 p.m. at The Greenfield Hill Congregational Church. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Mercy Learning Center, 637 Park Ave., Bridgeport, CT 06604 or Grasmere by the Sea Adult Day Service, 1 Post Road, Fairfield, CT 06824. Arrangements are being handled by the Spear-Miller Funeral Home of Fairfield.