The Chelsea Standard
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Businessman, volunteer helped Chelsea bloom
By Terry Jacoby, The Chelsea Standard
PUBLISHED: January 11, 2007
In 2001, Walter Ray Zeeb and his wife Sandy were named Chelsea Citizens of the Year.
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What's ironic about the award was that 2001 was no different than any other year for the Zeebs. A more fitting honor would have been a lifetime achievement award because the Zeebs spent a lifetime being citizens of the year.
That lifetime of achievement and contributions and dedicated service to the community he loved came to a sad end on Friday when Walter Zeeb passed away in his home at the age of 74.
But while he may be gone, the mark he left will last, well, it will last many lifetimes.
Gloria Mitchell of the Staffan-Mitchell Funeral Home was one of many who nominated Zeeb for the award in 2001. "It is difficult to find out exactly what all they have done for our community because they do it lovingly and quietly."
Some of the groups and events Zeeb was involved with included the Kiwanis Club, where he was a member since 1963, even serving a term as club president. In 1993, he was given the Legion of Honor award, recognizing him for 30 years of service.
"He was the grill master," said fellow Kiwanis member Norm O'Connor. "He could do things with that grill that no one else could. No one stood around hungry when Walt was running the grill. We have a new trailer and there is a large medal plate inside there just above the grill that says 'Walt Zeeb, Grill Master.' "
O'Connor said that Zeeb always did whatever needed to be done even if he was the only one available to do it.
"We have our stretch of highway there between M-52 and the Pierce Road exit and Walt was always out there picking things up," he said. "And if no one else was available to go out there, he would go all by himself and take care of the whole stretch."
Few people know Zeeb longer or better than O'Connor. The two started high school together in 1946 at the old school on Harrison Road. They also wrote letters back and forth while serving in the military in the Korean War.
"I was part of his wedding party when he married Sandy in the gymnasium at St. Mary school," he said. "They were remodeling the church at the time and the gym was the temporary sanctuary. In high school we used to skip school the first week of May and go swimming in the lake. That sort of became a tradition. It was cold but it was a lot of fun."
Zeeb also counseled inmates at the Cassidy Lake Prison Camp, served on the Chelsea Community Fair Board and was a frequent volunteer all around town.
"The Community Fair was always blooming with shrubs and flowers and it was Walt that not only planted them but took care of them," O'Connor said. "That fair meant a lot to him."
In 1998, the Zeebs were presented a distinguished service award by the Washtenaw County Dairy and Livestock Council for their contributions to the agricultural community.
Jim Gaunt and his wife Donna were long time business associates with Zeeb. They also were neighbors and friends.
"I was so happy the day I heard that Walt was named Citizen of the Year in Chelsea because no one deserved it more," Jim Gaunt said. "He was involved in so many things in the community, but people still will never know all the things he did for Chelsea."
Gaunt's business included selling flowers, especially gladiolus, to retail stores including Walter and Sandy Zeeb at Chelsea Greenhouse.
"He was very successful in business for a number of reasons," Gaunt explained. "First, he was a working fool. No one worked harder and longer than Walt Zeeb.
"Second he was very honest. He was the only one outside of my family that had a key to our warehouse when it was in Chelsea. And he would go in, take what he needed and left a note on the table of everything he took. And I know it was accurate.
"He also was very customer orientated. He took great care of his customers."
He also took great care of his employees.
"In the more than 34 years I worked with him at the greenhouse I never heard him tell an employee to do something; he always would ask," said Jack Loftis, a longtime employee. "He always got more out of people by asking."
Loftis said Zeeb made you feel like a part of the family.
"He was so very easy to work with, he really was," Loftis said. "And he could work you under the table, too. We were very successful because of how hard Walt and Sandy worked and also because of the way we treated our customers. If there was a complaint we always took care of it right away."
State Rep. Pam Byrnes (D-District 52) presented the Zeebs with a House of Representatives certificate to honor the couple for their "outstanding service and dedication to the Chelsea Senior Center." The Zeebs also were honored by Faith in Action with the Humanitarian of the Year award for their "many years of service to the community."
"He's going to be missed, not only by myself, but by the entire community," O'Connor said.
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