Elizabeth Hazard Zinke's Obituary
Funeral services for Elizabeth (Liz) Zinke will be at 11 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 9 at First Lutheran Church in Longview. Visitation will be from 4-7 p.m. Wednesday at Rader Funeral Home. Burial will take place at 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 11 at Restland Memorial Park Yoakum, Texas.
Liz went to be with the Lord the afternoon of Tuesday, July 31, 2018.
She was born Oct. 28, 1934, in Vernon, Texas to Robert and Effie Mae Hazard.
Her father was a hard-working cotton and dairy farmer who opened Vernon’s first Grade-A dairy, and with the help of his five children, kept his land productive through the Depression and beyond.
She found solace from farm work in the Vernon High School marching band, 4-H and FHA, becoming a talented seamstress, later teaching her own daughters to sew.
While attending the University of Texas, she met Elo Zinke, who captured her heart for life. They soon married on November 20th 1954, and she followed him throughout Texas as his career moved him from Austin, to Houston, Dallas, Lockhart, Lubbock, Plano and retiring to five years of full time cross-country RV-ing, finally settling into their beautiful home on Eagle Landing Lake in 1997.
Liz — often described as The Sweetest Lady in Texas — loved to entertain family and friends at her lakeside home. She enjoyed gardening, cooking from scratch, antiquing, and serving her church and community. Friends always felt at ease in her company, and family members often sought counsel.
She firmly believed in making the world a better place and that people should give back to their communities. She lived out her philosophy by making quilts for charity; helping to establish the first library in Allen, Texas; and working with scholarship programs. She looked forward to quilting days with her dear friends at First Lutheran Church.
Liz was preceded in death by her parents and her sisters Era Catherine and Carolyn. She is survived by her husband, Elo E. Zinke; her daughters Kimbra Valachovic, Karen Cross and Kristina Hallam; her grandchildren Andrea, David and Stephen Valachovic; Crimson Cross; and Gaston, Henry and Meredith Hallam; her brothers William and John Hazard; and sister Theresa Case. Elizabeth will also be remembered by her many nieces, nephews, extended family and friends.
To support scholarships, the angel tree, and development of the adventure park, consider donations to The 1936 Study Club,, National members of the General Federation of Women.
Send it to:
The 1936 study club
%Wanda Bailey
P.O. Box 336
Avinger, TX 75630
To support the efforts of her quilting group at first Lutheran Church, who produced 160 quilts in 2017 for Lutheran world relief, local disaster victims, and CPS, Please consider donations to
The Quilting Group
First Lutheran Church
3901 Bill Owens Parkway
Longview, TX 75605
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