John R. Zentner Jr.

1942 - 2008

Born October 5, 1942 in New Orleans, Louisiana to Joan and John R. Zentner, Sr.; passed away at his home in Woodland Hills, CA on June 28, 2008.
John grew up in Merced, California where he was active in all sports. He attended Merced High School and played tackle on the Varsity Football team attaining All-County and First Team All Central California honors. John's athletic talent was noticed by Hall of Fame coach Marv Levy and he was offered a scholarship to attend University of California at Berkeley and be a starter on the freshman football team. After falling ill to pneumonia, John had to leave Cal and he resumed his schooling and athletics at Modesto Jr. College, where he made All League in football. Again, his prowess at football was noticed and he was offered a scholarship to Fresno State where he excelled on the team and received letters from several professional football teams, including a letter from Vince Lombardi, famous coach of the Green Bay Packers. Despite his abilities, John suffered a significant knee injury that ended his football career.
While in high school, John coached a Varsity Merced Little League team for Basketball. John knew nothing about basketball except that the kids needed to shoot and rebound the ball. Yet, his team won the city league championship and it was evident that John had a knack for motivating people to be the best they could be. He would utilize these coaching and mentoring skills throughout his life. Later in life, while he was focusing on his career, he still was coaching the Colts, a Merced Little League football team, which won several championships and he was also assistant coach for the freshman team at Our Lady of Mercy.
John started at Farmers Insurance in Merced as an underwriter at the regional office for six years before opening his own agency, attaining national records for life insurance sales. He traveled all over the US giving sales and motivational talks while maintaining his record breaking agency at home in Merced.
In 1977 John moved his family to Woodland Hills, CA accepting the position of District Manager for Farmers Insurance, where he hired, trained and mentored more than sixty agents who continue to be successful in the business. In this process, he grew his “family” by adding many young men and women who credit him for much of their success. John retired in 1997 and began to focus on his creative passions.
John was a gifted artist and creator who worked in many mediums: art, sculpture, writing and inventing. John invented and developed many games: Ringball, Totem, Zing and Line Drive which have all been brought to market and distributed by game manufacturers. He was a music lyricist, with over five hundred written songs in his archives. Nothing made John happier than seeing his words put to music and the musicians he worked with are still putting melodies and voices to his lyrics. John was an accomplished artist and sculptor and had an organic aesthetic, often drawing or sculpting mushrooms, butterflies, and faces out of recycled materials. He was quite prolific and enjoyed adeptly working with his hands to create many pieces that are treasured by family and friends.
John is survived by his beloved wife of 43 years, Susan; sons John R. Zentner III (wife, Linda) of Moorpark, CA and Jeffrey W. Zentner of Rialto, CA; daughter, Jaymi J. Zentner of North Hollywood, CA; twin baby granddaughters Haley and Hannah born July 21, 2007 to John and Linda. He is also survived by his brother Jim Zentner (wife Sandy) of Alamo, CA; sisters Judy Bortnem (husband Lorn) of Denton, TX and Jackie Thomas (husband Keith) of Lancaster, CA along with many cousins, nieces and nephews.
A celebration of his extraordinary life was held on July 13, 2008 and attended by many family and friends at the home of John and Linda Zentner. His life was too short and he will be forever missed. www.johnzentner.com