Obituary

James Marshall Zehner, PhD was born on July 24, 1931 in Shenandoah, Ohio. When Jim was the age of two, his family moved to a farm in Springmill, Ohio, which was owned by his grandparents, the Wentz’s. There he resided and attended Springfield Township Schools. He graduated from Ontario High School in 1949 as the salutatorian of his class. Jim then went on to further his education by majoring in chemistry at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio where he received his BSN with a concentration in chemistry. He continued his education at Ohio State University and earned his PhD in chemistry in 1964.

He began his career as a chemist by working for the DuPont Company located in Wilmington, Delaware. A few years later he took a position with the United States Department of
Agriculture as an analytical chemist specializing in crop research. This brought him to the beautiful city of Savannah, Georgia where he resided until November 2020. While residing in Savannah, Jim enjoyed many indoor and outdoor activities. He participated in several sports leagues including bowling, baseball, and golf. He enjoyed poker and black jack, and was unbeatable at checkers. His love for theatre prompted him to take parts as an extra in more than a dozen tv and big screen movies, with his biggest moment being in The Legend of Bagger Vance with Matt Damon. Jim also belonged to the lapidary club of Savannah and was a self-proclaimed rock hound. He concentrated mainly on ruby mining and sapphire hunting, but his quest for gold and gems took him as far as Australia and Alaska, where he continued north and became one of the relatively few people to stand inside the Arctic Circle.

He was a lifetime member of the America Chemical Society. Jim’s work as a scientist and his various hobbies brought him great satisfaction and enjoyment, but his first priorities were always his church and his family. He was a long-time member of Grace United Methodist Church on Waters Ave. in Savannah. He was the adoring younger brother of Ellen and a wonderful uncle to many nieces and nephews.

Jim was proceeded in death by his parents, Morris and Margaret (Wentz) Zehner, and his sister and brother-in-law, Ellen and Robert Dubbert. He is survived by his nephew Robert (Becky) Dubbert of Chicago, Illinois and their children and grandchildren: Sue Ellen Dubbert and Eric Miller and their sons Hugo and Lark of Madison, Wisconsin; Stacey Dubbert and Eric Swanson and their daughter Lily of St. Louis, Missouri; and Sabrina Dubbert of Madison, Wisconsin. Nephew Daniel (Kay) Dubbert of Punta Gorda, Florida and their children and grandchildren: Tom (Kendice) Dubbert, Kyler and Tynley of Port Charlotte, Florida; Andy (Gaby) Dubbert of Tallahassee, Florida; Ben (Cessna) Manili-Dubbert of Tampa, Florida; and Joe (Kayla) Dubbert of Athens, Ohio. Niece Lisa (Scott) Gittinger of Bellevue, Ohio and their children and grandchildren: Holly (Trent) Stout of Fremont, Ohio, Sophia and Jase; and Cody Keegan of Cincinnati, Ohio. Nephew Michael Dubbert of Cincinnati, Ohio. The family farm in Springmill, Ohio will remain in the care of the aforementioned family members.

A private, family only graveside service will be held on Friday October 28th at 12:30 pm in Mansfield Memorial Park, Mansfield, Ohio.

Memorials may be made in Jim’s honor to Grace United Methodist Church 6412 Waters Ave., Savannah, GA 31406 or to The American Chemical Society 1155 Sixteenth Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20036