Dr. Zack L. York

Dr. YORK, Zack L.
Of Kalamazoo, Michigan Dr. York passed away quietly Monday evening, March 17, at The Springs four days after celebrating his 95th birthday with several friends. He was born in Portland, Michigan, March 13, 1913, the son of Harry and Ruth Adel York of Sunfield. Although his teaching career took him away from Michigan for a few years, he was identified with Western Michigan University throughout most of his adult life. He enrolled as a freshman at Western State Normal School in 1930 and served on the faculty for more than thirty-five years, from 1953 to 1978. During his tenure at WMU he served as chair of the department of speech from 1953 to 1966 and as the first chairman of the Department of Theatre from 1976 to 1978, when he retired. In addition to teaching a variety of courses in theatre and oral interpretation, he directed and designed scenery, costumes and make-up for numerous student productions during his tenure at Western. Dr. York's distinguished career included teaching junior high English in a country school near Hastings for two years in the early 1930's, teaching theatre design at Michigan State University, 1952-1953, and serving in the U.S. Army, rising from the rank of private to major, in World War II, 1942-1946. He was stationed in the Philippines. He also taught briefly at Lake Odessa. After receiving his undergraduate degree from WMU in 1937, he enhanced his considerable artistic skills through the study of scenic and lighting design at the prestigious Yale Drama School from 1939 to 1941. His post-WWII studies took him to the University of Wisconsin at Madison where he earned the M.S. degree in 1949 and the Ph.D. in theatre in 1950. Dr. York's achievements and his impact on his students, the university and on the Greater Kalamazoo community were recognized by his alma mater and by the Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo. Although he was humbled by the Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts awarded him by the Western Board of Trustees in 2003, he was much more thrilled by the establishment the same year of the Zack L. York Theatre Scholarship which is awarded to outstanding students enrolled in the Department of Theatre. He was also grateful that the university had named the "black box" theatre adjacent to Shaw Theatre in his honor. He also felt deeply honored when he received the Medal of Arts in 1988 from the Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo in recognition of his significant contributions to the cultural life of the community. Throughout his university career he was active in a number of national, state and regional theatre and speech associations. He is also listed in "Who's Who in America." Zack loved the theatre, music, and art, and continued to be engaged in creative activities for most of the years he lived at The Fountains. He was a regular patron of the university theatre, the Kalamazoo Civic, and Kalamazoo Symphony concerts. His deep faith in God reflected itself in his love of his church; both he and Eleanor were charter members of the Westwood Methodist Church which he attended every Sunday. A gifted painter and caricaturist, he practiced these arts up until just a few years ago. He loved to sing and he was the washtub bass player in The Fountains' "kitchen band." He enjoyed the fellowship of the regular luncheon meetings of the Michigan Association of Retired School Personnel and, finally, two days before he died he was able to attend a performance of the opera, Peter Grimes, at a Kalamazoo 10 theatre. Zack L. York is survived by two children and their spouses, Joel and Joyce York of Sarasota, Florida, and Brian and Sarah York Schug of Grand Rapids. Eleanor Chase York, his beloved spouse whom he married on October 25, 1952, passed away in 1993. He is also survived by his niece, Geneva Speas of Lansing, and two nephews, Dr. Bernard York of Denver, and Ronald York of Shipshewana, Indiana, as well as several other relatives. Arrangements are being handled by Langeland Family Funeral Homes, Memorial Chapel, 622 S. Burdick St., Kalamazoo, MI. According to his wishes, cremation has taken place. There will be no visitation. The family will announce a memorial service at a later date. Memorial contributions may be made to the Zack L. York Theatre Scholarship Fund, in care of the Western Michigan University Foundation or to West Michigan Hospice.