Joseph D. Ziehl

1931 - 2025

Joseph D. Ziehl
March 10, 1931 - October 20, 2025
Joseph D. Ziehl, 94, of Naples, Florida, and Woodbury, Connecticut, passed away peacefully on October 20, 2025, in Woodbury. Joe was born in Queens, New York, in 1931, to Frank B. Ziehl and Madeleine Kleinklaus Ziehl. He lived a long and vibrant life, marked by love and devotion to family and friends, endless curiosity, and remarkable energy.
Joe began his adult life as a professional jazz pianist and became a fixture on the New York City club scene, before embarking on an entrepreneurial business career in his early thirties. Together with his late first wife, Joan, he founded Ziehl Radio, a creator and distributor of radio-focused public relations content, which they operated for nearly forty years.
While running a business, raising children, and pursuing shared family interests such as tennis, sailing, and skiing, Joe left his piano largely idle for decades. Remarkably, he rediscovered his musical passion in his early eighties, with the strong encouragement of his late daughter, Elizabeth, and his beloved second wife, Michelle. Liz rekindled her father's musical journey with the gift of an electric keyboard, and Michelle eventually convinced her ever-frugal husband to purchase beautiful matching grand pianos for their homes in Naples and Woodbury. Joe's radiant smile as he "tickled the ivories" will live forever in the memories of those who loved him.
Away from the piano bench, Joe remained active and continued to play tennis well into his nineties-until a bad knee finally slowed him down.
Joe is survived by his wife, Michelle C. McLaughlin; daughter, Catherine C. Ziehl; sons, Joseph P. Ziehl and Matthew P. Ziehl; ten grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; stepdaughter, Allison McCarthy; and three step-grandchildren. He was predeceased by his first wife, Joan Fox Ziehl; daughter, Elizabeth C.Z. Fox; and brothers, Frank L. Ziehl, M.D. and Charles E. Ziehl.
A funeral service will be held on November 1, 2025, at 11:00 a.m. at St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church, 46 Church Hill Road, Newtown, Connecticut.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Woodbury Volunteer Fire Department (Woodbury, CT) or the Pathways Early Education Center of Immokalee (Naples, FL).