Joseph Zeman

Joseph Joe Zeman Joe Zeman was grassroots Saskatchewan. Born February 6, 1914 on Sec. 12, Tp29, Rge 8, near Outlook, he grew up on the farm at Kenaston. His mother's people came from the Rusyn village of Porac in what is now Slovakia while his father came from the Slovak village of Kravany. Joe had a flair for language in general, Slavic languages in particular. He enjoyed verse, would often recite it. Social dancing came less easily but he could cut a rug. He liked singing. Trained in the art of debate, taking the other side came naturally to Joe, infuriatingly so at times. His early life was marked by the death of his mother. From tragedy came resourcefulness. As the oldest child he had to take on adult responsibilities. One was learning to cook. His specialties were soups and stews. Joe never asked how you were he asked if you'd eaten, his way of giving love and affection. The first time Grade 12 was offered in his hometown he was in the graduating class. From there he returned to Outlook for his first year of university; the only Catholic at the Lutheran college, he was ecumenical before it was in. Up at Normal School in Saskatoon Joe was called into the principal's office for not applying himself to his studies. It seems he was caught up in his extracurricular activities, a pattern that emerged in full creative force in Joe's life, where avocation was as important as vocation. Graduate he did, but it was the Depression, there were no teaching jobs. During that time in his life he learned the art of recycling. In 1937 he entered the College of Agriculture at the University of Saskatchewan. Two years later he met the shy and lovely Jessie Shewan. Joe married well. They had four children. Their home at 503-5th Avenue was the hub of the community when he organized sport for his two oldest sons. As a boy he had played sport in stolen moments away from farm work. At university he indulged his passion. Later, in his years as an agricultural economist for Canada Department of Agriculture, inbetween doing crop-yield surveys in rural areas he was busy arranging baseball games. After harvest he would begin to write up his report. There didn't seem to be any urgency. Sometime in the winter, in-between hockey games, the report would be written and mailed to Ottawa. In those years Joe's life had a seamless quality. Its rhythm was determined as much by the seasons as the calendar. One winter he coached five hockey teams. Don't worry, his brother Frank told Jessie, Joe will get out of sport when the kids grow up. He never did his focus just shifted is all. By the early 70s, after managing the first Canadian National Baseball team at the Pan American Games in Winnipeg in 1967, he started his volunteer board member phase. An archivist, he saved the minutes from every meeting he went to, no mean feat considering he belonged to 18 different sport, culture and heritage organizations at one time. Late 70s, he got on a plane for the first time and flew to Czechoslovakia to meet his six first cousins. Got such a kick out of them he flew back four more times. Early 80s, he and his daughter wrote a book on Saskatchewan hockey. In the 90s Joe became a fixture on coffee row, five coffee rows to be exact. That was somewhat curtailed a few years ago when Joe ran into a bus, totalled his car, and quit driving. Bus driver gets out, says to Joe, Are you all right? Turns out, he had played ball (or was it hockey?) for Joe. In his prime Joe seemed to know everyone in Saskatchewan. He was great with one-liners, knew how to work a banquet room. Yet at the same time he was a thinker. Alone in the early mornings in the solitude of his living room, who knows what Joe was thinking when he played his endless game of Solitaire, worked a crossword, or read history. Joe was predeceased by his mother Sophie Voytilla and his father Joe Zeman Sr. The oldest in the inner-circle of his generation, Joe outlived them all, including wife Jessie, brother Frank (Peggy), sister Alice Stacowich (Mike), sister-in-law Alice Hooker (ex-husband Jim), wife Jessie's cousin, Jessie Carson (Bob). Years ago he was saddened by the death of his infant son, Alan; later, by the deaths of nephews Dennis and Ian; more recently, the death of eldest grandson Brent. Until April 23rd when Joe was admitted to hospital he lived with his youngest son and last dog Biela, with his daughter walking distance away. Those left to mourn his passing include: sons Gary, Dale, Kevan, daughter Brenda (Tommy Lee); grandchildren Scott, Suzanne, Chad, Spencer and families; nieces Linda and Heather and families; nephews Bryan, Joe, Don and families. Joe was wide-awake on Canada Day. Late-afternoon, July 2nd, Joe passed away with Brenda, friend Kevin Krofchek and his dog at his bedside. The Visitation will be at Saskatoon Funeral home on Tuesday July 7th, 2009 at 7 p.m. The Funeral Liturgy will commence at 2 p.m. Wednesday July 8th at St. Philip Neri Church on Munroe and Taylor. Interment will follow at Woodlawn Cemetery. Fellowship will be offered at Edwards Centre at 4:30 p.m. (parking at Saskatoon Funeral Home). Joe was the ultimate volunteer. He gave generously of himself and his pocketbook. Please make donations in his memory to the Saskatchewan Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, Sage Hill Writing Experience, Meewasin Valley Authority and the Saskatoon Heritage Society. Condolences may be emailed to mail@saskatoonfuneralhome.com arrangements are entrusted to the SASKATOON FUNERAL HOME, 244-5577.