John Zambo

1922 - 2015

John William Zambo, longtime Fort Morgan resident, passed into the mysteries of death on Wednesday, February 4, 2015. Born July 10, 1922, to Lydia Zambo in Selby, South Dakota, John grew up in Rapid City, graduating high school in 1940. While in school, he cultivated a lifelong interest in Ham radio and procured a license with the call letters WØANW, which he retained throughout his life. With war clouds threatening, John joined the South Dakota National Guard shortly after graduation. He was taken into the army in February 1941, joining the 109 th Combat Engineers, part of the 34 th Infantry Division, known as the Red Bull Division. After a year of training, his unit was shipped to Northern Ireland in December 1941, following Pearl Harbor, for further training. In December 1942, the unit was sent to North Africa to join the fight against German general Rommel. With John operating radios for the unit, the men took part in numerous battles until the Germans surrendered. John's unit was then moved to southern Italy to continue battling the Germans up the Italian peninsula, seeing action at Naples, the Anzio beachhead, and further north. John was rotated back to the United States in early 1945, shortly before the war ended. John attended the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology under the GI Bill from 1945 to his graduation in 1949. He then moved to Fort Morgan and took a position as chief electrical engineer at Morgan County REA, which he held for more than 42 years. He married Alma Bailey on June 6, 1959, becoming a devoted father to her four children. Four years later, he and Alma had a child of their own. Besides operating his Ham radio, John's hobbies included repairing and maintaining two-way short-wave radio systems, listening to classical music, and playing the cello. In later years he also enjoyed dancing regularly, and he was a stalwart member of the Fort Morgan United Methodist Church, where he sang bass in the choir for some 60 years. John was a lifetime member of the American Legion and the VFW, and a member of the Oasis Masonic Lodge no. 67 for more than 50 years, 25 of those as secretary. John is survived by daughters Jenny Forbes, of Fort Morgan, Linda Mann (Rick), of Littleton, and Tammy Zambo (Nancy Nienhuis), of North Reading, Massachusetts, as well as son David Bailey (Beverly), of Fort Morgan. He was preceded in death by his wife; his mother; one sister, Ella Bullmaster, of Dayton, Ohio; and one daughter, Carolyn Viers (Kenton), of Littleton. He shared his love with nine grandchildren, 20 great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild. A memorial service will be held at the Fort Morgan United Methodist Church on Saturday, February 7, at 10:30 a.m. A private inurnment will follow at a later date. Friends who wish may make contributions in John's memory to Fort Morgan United Methodist Church, 117 East Bijou, Fort Morgan.