Richard John Zettel Obituary (1926 - 2014)

Richard John Zettel Sr., age 88, of Lake Havasu City passed away Saturday, October 18, 2014. Richard was born May 22,1926, in Detroit, Michigan. He is the son of the late Louis Zettel and Louise (McDougal) Zettel. Richard was preceded in death by his wife, Jeannette (Greschak) Zettel, and his granddaughter, Kristy Zettel. He is survived by daughter, Colleen Pankow (Gary) of Lake Havasu City, Arizona; and four sons, Richard Zettel Jr. (Debbie) of Sterling Heights, Michigan,Chris Zettel (Linda) of Swartz Creek, Michigan, Paul Zettel of Philadelphia, Tennessee, and Steve Zettel (Staci) of Lake Havasu City, Arizona.He also leaves behind fifteen grandchildren and numerous great-grandchildren. In 1943, Richard joined the USMC and served during World War II as a rifleman in the 1st Raider Battalion. He fought on Guadalcanal and Iwo Jima and was awarded two Purple Hearts before receiving an Honorable Discharge. A lifelong Marine, he would always stop young military personnel, thank them for their service, and send them off with a salute and a Semper Fi. After 20 years as a police officer in St. Clair Shores, Michigan, he retired and moved to Lake Havasu in 1972 where he worked as a security guard for the McCulloch Corporation. Richard also worked for the Lake Havasu Unified School District for a number of years.He later retired for good and spent his time traveling and reading, but nothing was more enjoyable to him than spending quality time with his kids and many grandchildren. Richard was a simple man with a one-of-a-kind sense of humor and memorable one-liners.He fought valiantly through his illnesses and recovered from all but his last. He will be sadly missed by all who knew him. A Visitation will be held at 3:00pm on Saturday, October 25, followed by a Memorial Service at 4:00pm at Lietz-Fraze Funeral Home Chapel (21 Riviera Blvd, Lake Havasu City, Arizona.) In lieu of flowers the family requests donations be made in his name to Hospice of Havasu (www.havasuhospice.org) and the Alzheimer's Association (www.alz.org). Services were placed in the care of Lietz-Fraze Funeral Home. Thoughts and condolences may be sent to Richard's family at www.lietz-frazefuneralhome.com.