Joe D. Ziehr

Joe Delton Ziehr was born September 1, 1936 in Cisco, TX to Frank John Ziehr and Willie Maie  Holt Ziehr.   He was born on his parents thirteenth wedding anniversary and his maternal grandfather William Joe Holt’s 62nd Birthday.

He was reared on the family farm south of Cisco.   He attended Grace Lutheran School through the seventh grade and in 8th grade entered Cisco Public Schools.  While attending Cisco High School he was part of the Future Farmers of America and the Distributive Education Programs.   He graduated Cisco High School in 1954 and in recent years was instrumental in organizing class reunions.

He was in the National Guard from 1954 to 1965, being federalized in 1961 and 1962 stationed at Fort Polk in Louisiana and Fort Sill in Oklahoma.

From 1952 -1956, he was a mechanic at AG Motor Company.   In 1956, he started working at Lone Star Gas working until his retirement in 1997, except he was serving in the military.

On October 26, 1968, Joe married Mary Ann Louise Stroebel at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Cisco.   After a brief time in Weatherford, they made their home in Cisco, moving into their current home in 1975.   A few weeks after moving into their new home, they welcome their son Kevin Joe into their lives. 

Joe attended Grace Lutheran Church until 1965 when it merged with Christ Lutheran Church to become Redeemer Lutheran Church.   He was the first secretary for the church council at Redeemer and held many offices there over the years, one of which was the chairman of the building committee for the current church completed in 1981.

In 2010, Joe started attending the First Presbyterian Church of Cisco and was one of their last regular attendees at the church’s closing in 2021.   Recently Joe had the Sunday morning routine of watching Facebook live church service, Holy Cross Lutheran Church of Warda, TX at 9:00 am and the Cisco Methodist Church at 11:00 am.

Retirement did not slow Joe down.   He kept busy for many years as a trustee for the Redeemer Lutheran Cemetery Association and the Pleasant Hill Cemetery Association, retiring from the Redeemer post in 2015 and the Pleasant Hill post in 2019.  In the past few years, he  enjoyed regular phone calls with his cousin Richard Ziehr of Austin to discuss the family history.   Joe was also a member of the Texas Wendish Heritage Society.  Also in 2000, Joe was honored by the Texas Land Heritage Program for the Ziehr farm being in the ownership by the same extended family for over 100 years.

Joe passed away on the evening of May 31, 2023 in Rising Star, TX surrounded by son Kevin and dear friends Harlos and Teena Guyton present.

Joe was preceded in death by his of 54 years Mary Ann in 2022, his parents, his in-laws, G. C.  and Lydia Stroebel, Mary Ann’s step mother Eva Richardson Stroebel, brother Elton Ziehr, sister Kathleen Weiser, and brother in-laws Norman Weiser and Alvin Krause.

He is survived by his son Kevin of Cisco, sister Elaine Krause of Copperas Cove, brother Roland and wife Jean of Clyde, nieces, nephews, cousins, and lifelong friends.

Memorial service will be at 10:00 am on June 3, 2023 at the Cisco Methodist Church with Dr. Bruce Lampert, former pastor of First Presbyterian Church officiating, assisted by Jo Lynn Davis, pastor of Cisco Methodist Church.  The family will receive friends after the service until 11:30 a.m.

A private family burial will be held at Redeemer Lutheran Cemetery.

Pallbearers will be Will Holt, Jeff Ziehr, Scott Ziehr, Robert Ziehr, Jeff Newman, and Marvin Reich.  Honorary pallbearers are Harlos and Teena Guyton, Victor Plambeck, and Tim Reich.

The family wishes to thank Rising Star Nursing  and Rehabilitation as well as CCS Hospice for the care provided to him.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials be made to Redeemer Lutheran Cemetery Association, Pleasant Hill Cemetery Association, or the College/Trade School Scholarship Fund at the Texas Wendish Heritage Society and Museum.

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