David D. Zito Obituary
A funeral service will be held on Monday, June 26, 2023, at 12:00 p.m. noon at Joldersma & Klein Funeral Home, 917 S. Burdick St., Kalamazoo. Friends may call on the family one hour prior to the service at the funeral home beginning at 11:00 a.m. Dave will be laid to rest at Harrison Cemetery, Schoolcraft. Memorial contributions may be made to St Jude Children's Research Hospital or the American Heart Association, c/o the funeral home.
Age 83, of Mattawan passed away on June 22, 2023. Dave was born in Chicago, IL on January 26, 1940, the son of Salvatore (Sam) Zito and Sadie (Kroll) Zito/Nikko. He resided in Chicago, IL for the first 16 years of his life, then finished his high schooling in Bloomindale, MI. He moved back to Chicago and worked in the trucking business, starting his career in supervision/transportation working for Ezor and then Interstate Motor Freight, moving to Benton Harbor while pursuing a job promotion at Interstate Motor Freight. During the late1960's Dave met his wife, L. Jean Simons. Shortly after marriage in 1968, the couple moved to Schoolcraft, MI . During this time Dave worked at Transcon Lines in Kalamazoo. Raising two children while living in the country, was lots of work, but also a hobby farm. During these years Dave was able to use his love for mechanical work to keep the family vehicles running. This included many tractors /farm and lawn, not to mention the machinery for keeping the mini farm running. His abilities and accomplishments included building a pole barn, which was used for livestock and storage. Dave loved to hunt, fish and garden. His specialties were his tomatoes. Working outside always included one of the 3 German Shorthair Pointers he owned throughout his life at his side. Because Transcon closed, Dave joined Jean on a new endeavor, traveling to arts and crafts fairs to exhibit and sell Jean's arts. This became their livelihood until retirement in the early 2000's. About this same time, Dave and Jean moved 3 miles from their countryside home to a new countryside home for which Dave was the contractor. Dave and Jean celebrated 50 years of marriage in 2018. One thing that was a constant was Dave's love of cooking, especially his beloved spaghetti sauce. One quote he was known for was, "Like I always say-If you want something good to eat cook it at home. If you just want to eat go to a restaurant.". Besides his wife, Dave is survived by his children, Kurt Zito of Mattawan, Georgia VandenBerg of Camillus, NY; grandchildren, Leah, Celeste, and Nicholas; sister, Susan Aebischer; sisters-in-law, Lynne Stewart and Joyce Murphy; special nieces and great nieces and their loved ones. He was preceded in death by his parents and brother-in-law, Walter Aebischer.
