Thomas E. Zenk

Tom, it´s hard to believe a year has gone by. We still think of you and our great memories of growing up and playing ball together.
Jerry Havens

Tom and I may have 1st met in Marengo, IL in 1949. Both of our Mothers were pregnant (with us), and wandering about they could've bumped into one another at Zenk's Tavern or Shady Lane Farm, thus giving Tom and I magical "alive but still in the womb communication". Anyway our family moved to California in 1959, I was devastated. It wasn't until 1976 that I moved back to Illinois, Chicago that I hooked-up with Tom. We became instant good friends and started golfing a bit. One morning driving to a golf course, "Kiss" came on the radio with, "They Call Me Dr. Love". I think it was Tom who began singing along, except changing the lyrics to... Dr. Golf... and both of us started energetically singing, "They call me Dr. Golf!!!", about 800 times, or as many times as "Kiss" sings it to end the song. I wound-up getting Tom some golf balls monogrammed with "Dr. Golf"... he may still have one or 2 in his golf bag. Tom and I (and lovely Carol) did a lot of laughing... I called them every Christmas and we'd talk for an hour or so. I will miss Tom very much. He was a good person and terrific friend.

So sorry to hear about Tom's passing, a truly great guy. I met Tom quite a while ago on the CBOE. He would always put a smile on my face.
Carol, I hope you are doing well, you made a great pair

Love, Jim Duff

Tom, may you Rest In Peace. Our friendship will always be in our hearts.
Carol, you are in our prayers!

What a wonderful and very interesting man. I always enjoyed talking with Tom. His booming voice was unmistakable. RIP my friend.

May God bless you and your family in this time of sorrow.

Carol , Paula and I are very sorry for your loss , Tom was such a great guy ,we will keep you both in our prayers .

Nov '65: Zeus, Ben Davis, Merritt, Flance, & I: row 27 McCormick Pl; Rolling Stones first US tour. What an adventure! Now, Zeus, you're front row, blasting thru stardust! Is this the ultimate adventure? Catch ya there.

Sending love to my heartfelt friend Tom. I will miss you dearly. We met when we both showed up at the U of I as teenagers, a bit lost for sure but we found one another as kindred spirits. Tom was ahead of the curve in the 60's and who knows where things might have gone if he mastered lead guitar! Not many folks tuned into Pink Floyd in 1968. Tom had that great mixture of looking for adventure and finding it while being solid as a rock with a heart of gold. Carol, I'm so glad the two of you found one another and had so many years together. Peaceful journey to the mystery my friend. My spirit will find yours.
Love,
JC

So many memories! So many laughs!
You will not be forgotten! And thank you Carol for making his life so much richer!

Please accept my deepest condolences. Prayers to family and friends!

Dear Carol,
I am heartbroken. He was a life long friend, and he will be greatly missed.
Please know that you are in my thoughts and prayers, and have my deepest condolences.
Peace be with you.

I am so broken-hearted that Tom has passed away, but grateful that he is no longer in pain. He was definitely one of the good guys. I think we probably met in 1st grade and went all 12 years of school together. Thank you, Tom and Carol, for taking time to come to the class reunions and the other few times I was back in IL. I truly appreciated you guys showing up. And Carol...you are such a great addition to our class. It feels like I've known you forever, too. I am so blessed to have had Tom as a life-long friend. Rest in peace, dear friend. You will be missed.

So sorry to see another good guy leave us. He was extremely knowledgeable about so many matters. I´m glad he was so strong for you Carol while you two were fighting a courageous battle.