Mr. Zika retired as a Captain with the Belleville Fire Department after 26 years of service, and worked as a State Fire Marshal Inspector for 15 years. He was a member of the Belleville Exchange Club and the Elks Lodge #481. George was a member of the Army National Guard, Company K, 133rd Division from 1954 to 1962, and served with the U. S. Army Reserves Unit in St. Louis, MO, from 1962 to 1964. George was a member of St. Joseph Catholic Church, Freeburg, IL, and belonged to the men’s club at the church.
He was preceded in death by his parents, George and Catherine, nee Gebke, Zika.
Surviving are his loving wife, Mary Louise, nee Wainwright, Zika;
a son, Daniel (Sharon) Zika;
three daughters, Mary Joan Gober (Eric Kohrmann), Lynn (Daniel) Weidenbenner, and Kathleen Zika-Welty(Gary);
eight grandchildren, Hayley Zika, Lexi, Liza, and Cole Gober, Whitney and Olivia Weidenbenner, and Dustin and Dalton Woodcock;
a brother, Kenneth (Geraldine) Zika;
two sisters, Joyce (John) Krueger, and Marilyn (Ronald) Yeager;
many nieces and nephews;
and great-nieces and great-nephews.
He was loved by MANY.
Memorials may be made to Siteman Cancer Research Center, to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, or to Hospice of Southern Illinois. Condolences may be expressed to the family online at www.rennerfh.com.
Visitation: Friends may visit from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday, September 27, 2021, at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, Freeburg, IL.
Funeral: A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 1 p.m. Monday, September 27, 2021, at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, Freeburg, IL, with Fr. Von Deeke, Msgr. Jim Buerster, and Deacon Corby Valentine concelebrating.
Burial will be at Green Mount Catholic Cemetery, Belleville, IL.