Edward Thomas Zarick Sr.

1938 - 2022

News story
By Mike Sigov
Blade staff writer

Edward Thomas Zarick, Sr., an entertainer turned home improvements salesman, died June 30 in Lutheran Village at Wolf Creek. He was 84.

He died after a seven-year bout with multiple myeloma, Susan Wroblewski, a sister, said.

Mr. Zarick was part of a large family in North Toledo, where they were well known among the residents of Lebanese Christian community, family members said.

"He was a very upbeat person who loved people. Everybody liked him," Mrs. Wroblewski said, adding that her brother enjoyed being the center of attention, especially in his younger years.

Her sister Rosemarie Zarick agreed.

"He was very outgoing, very likable, and had a lot of friends," she said. "And he was a very generous person in all respects - with money, his time, and his friendships. He just gave of himself. That's what he did."

Locally, Mr. Zarick sold home improvement items such as doors and windows in South Toledo from the 1970s through the 1990s. He was self-employed.

Before that, he was a salesman for Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Lansing area for several years after pursuing a career in show business in Ohio, Michigan, and the Windsor-Toronto area in the mid-to-late 1960s. He sang and did stand-up comedy.

Born Feb. 7, 1938 in Toledo to Adele and Henry Zarick, he attended Woodward High School until dropping out in his senior year to volunteer in the Navy.

He served in the Pacific aboard the USS Coronado littoral combat ship until his honorable discharge in the late 1950s.

While in the Navy, Mr. Zarick was recognized for his singing talent and then performed with a Navy entertainment team while ashore. He was very proud of his service, Mrs. Wroblewski said.

After his honorable discharge, he returned to Toledo, where he got his general equivalency diploma in the early 1960s. He then took private vocal lessons and then sang solo at local social events before going into the entertainment business professionally.

In the late 1950s, he married Patricia Manns. They had two children and later divorced. She survives.

Soon after his marriage, he entered the insurance business, his sister said.

In 1966, he married Karyl Bennette. They lived in Ann Arbor and then in Ypsilanti, Mich., for a time until moving to Toledo in the 1970s. She survives.

In his free time, he enjoyed fly-fishing the Maumee River, especially with his family, his sister said.

Mr. Zarick also used his writing skills to chronicle his daily life experiences, including his illness, via a series of Facebook posts.

"I feel grateful, and I'm still taking it one day at a time," he wrote in one 2019 post.

Along with his wife Karyl Zarick, surviving are his son, Edward Thomas, Jr.; daughter, Beth Hoving; sisters, Rosemarie Zarick and Susan Wroblewski, three grandsons, and four great-grandchildren.

A memorial service will begin at 10 a.m. Sunday at St. Elias Orthodox Christian Church in Sylvania.

Arrangements are by Coyle Funeral Home.

The family suggests tributes to the American Cancer Society.