Alabama School Yearbooks by State and County
Julie Marie Yoder
Born in Cedar Rapids, IA on October 20, 1964
Departed on November 14, 2006. Resided in Cedar Rapids, IA.
Visitation: Friday, November 17, 2006
Service: Saturday, November 18, 2006
cemetery: Cedar Memorial Park cemetery
Julie Marie Yoder, 42, of 703 Rockvalley Lane NW, died Tuesday, November 14, 2006, in her home following a long courageous battle with breast cancer.
Memorial services will be at 11 AM Saturday in Cedar Memorial Chapel of Memories.
Roseann Hayek of St. Matthew's Catholic Church will officiate.
Inurnment in Chapel of Memories Mausoleum in Cedar Memorial Park cemetery. Friends may call at Cedar Memorial Funeral Home from 5 to 8 PM on Friday and at the chapel after 10:30 AM on Saturday.
Surviving to honor her memory are her husband Larry, three daughters Ashleigh, Kasey, and Halle, her parents Bill and Mary Jurgensen of Hiawatha, her two brothers Jeff Jurgensen and wife Trish of Pierre, South Dakota, and Jim Jurgensen and wife DeAnn of Cedar Rapids, her sister, Jean Aldrich and husband Brian of Shellsburg, her father in law and mother in law Bud Yoder of Iowa City, and Lila and Mal Gould of Muskegon, Michigan, and several aunts, uncles, nieces, and nephews.
Julie was born October 20, 1964 in Cedar Rapids.
She graduated from Jefferson High School in 1983 and attended the University of Iowa.
She was a teacher's associate at Truman Elementary School.
Her greatest joys were her family, especially times fishing in Minnesota, and the beach in Florida.
Julie will be greatly missed by her family and all who knew and loved her.
Instead of flowers a memorial fund has been established.
Alan Jack Zazza
Born in Cedar Rapids, IA on July 2, 1952
Departed on January 17, 2006. Resided in Cedar Rapids, IA.
Visitation: Thursday, January 19, 2006
Service: Friday, January 20, 2006
Family Gathering: Friday, January 20, 2006
cemetery: Cedar Memorial Park cemetery
Alan Jack Zazza, 53, of Cedar Rapids, died Tuesday at Mercy Medical Center following a sudden illness.
Services: 11 a.m. Friday at the Westminster Presbyterian Church by Rev. Herbert L. Isenberg officiating.
Interment: Cedar Memorial Park cemetery.
Friends may call at the Cedar Memorial Funeral Home from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. today.
Following the service, friends are invited to a reception in Alan's honor at the Clarion Hotel.
Alan's family and job were his pride and joy and greatest source of strength throughout his life.
Surviving besides his loving wife Karen, are 2 daughters, Michelle and Holly Zazza, both of Cedar Rapids, his father, Jack Zazza of Cedar Rapids, sister and brother in law, Sue Gerald Hutchcroft of Cedar Rapids, sister in law; Ann Hearn and husband Eric of Cedar Rapids, and his mother in law, Edith Hembree of Cedar Rapids, and nephews, Scott Kunce of Denver, Colorado and Brad and Eric Zichterman, both of Cedar Rapids.
He was preceded in death by his mother, Mildred Millie Zazza in 1997.
Alan was born July 2, 1952 in Cedar Rapids to Jack and Mildred Simanek Zazza.
After attending and graduating from Washington High School in 1971, he attended William Penn College in Oskaloosa from 1971-1972.
In 1972 and 1973, Alan attended Kirkwood Community College and then attended and graduated from the University of Iowa in 1975.
As a young boy in grade school, Alan enjoyed learning and working for his grandparents, Milo and Vendeline Simanek and father Jack Zazza at the Simanek and Zazza Plumbing and Heating business.
Alan would spend every summer, spring and Christmas vacation with them at the plumbing business as well as after school in the afternoon.
By junior high he enjoyed actually going out on the construction job with their employees and father and learning the business.
He also started learning and helping his dad with manageing apartment complexes in Cedar Rapids and Iowa City.
Upon entering senior high school, Alan worked on many construction jobs, managed apartment and condominium complexes for his family, and had been Simanek and Zazza's back hoe operator.
Later he became vice president of S & Z Plumbing as well as Sual Development.
Alan enjoyed working many construction jobs and learning the trade.
Then in 1975, when the Zazza family broke ground on the Sheraton Hotel, Alan was worked construction on the project from day one.
Upon construction completion, Alan started managing the Sheraton and was General Manager and in the late 1980s, became President and General Manager of Zazza Ltd., doing business as "S" Sheraton Hotel and Convention Center.
Alan was instrumental in adding 9 additions to the hotel in the first 20 years opened.
Alan was also instrumental in starting a local Hotel-Motel Association, and staying active in it throughout the years.
Alan received the following awards and recognition:
In 1981, Alan was chosen and awarded "Outstanding Young Man of America".
In 1993, he was chosen Entrepreneur of the Year by the Cedar Rapids Chamber of Commerce.
In 1995, he was chosen Outstanding Lodging Hotelier of the Year from the state of Iowa.
In 1997, he was awarded and acknowledged by Governor Terry Branstad for the yearly Governor's Volunteer Award.
Alan served with the following organizations.
All Iowa Agricultural Board at Hawkeye Downs from 1993 to the present.
Cedar Rapids Area Convention and Visitor's Bureau for many years.
Alan was proud to say his goal in 1976 when the Sheraton opened was to host all of Iowa's opposing football teams.
To date, Alan has hosted every opposing Iowa team since 1977.
Over the years, the coaches and athletic directors and head trainers were so satisfied with how Alan and his staff handled all of the details a team required, he has been guest of many head coaches.
In 1996, Joe Paterno of Penn State invited Alan and his family out to Happy Valley.
In 1997, John Cooper and Archie Griffin of Ohio State invited Alan to Columbus, Ohio.
In 1998, Indiana's head coach Cam Cameron and their football staff did the same and in 1999, Michigan's head coach, Lloyd Carr made the invitation to Ann Arbors "Big House".
He and his wife were guest of Nebraska Cornhusker's head coach, Frank Solvich in 2000, a guest of Michigan State in 2001, visited Miami of Ohio in 2002 and was a guest of Dan McCarney's Iowa State Cyclones in 2003.
In 2004, he was a guest of Coach Ron Turner and the Illinois staff and in 2005 a head coach Joe Tiller and staff invited Alan to Purdue.
Alan was highly respected in the college football circuit with head coaches, assistant coaches, athletic directors and head trainers.
From the the west; University of Hawaii to east; Buffalo, New York, from the south; University of Miami to the north; University of Minnesota, Alan knew all of them that played at the University of Iowa.
Alan's largest joy was the 1000's of people he knew from all over the country, but especially in the Cedar Rapids area.
Over the years in the hotel business, he met so many wonderful people that he became friends with.
Alan was a real people person and enjoyed welcoming groups to the Sheraton as well as to the city he loved so much.
Alan loved working 6 days a week all of his life and pleasing people at his business.
He always wanted his guests satisfied in everyway.
Alan was also instrumental on bringing many state conventions and a few national conventions to Cedar Rapids and the Sheraton.
No matter where Alan traveled in Cedar Rapids, he always knew people and thoroughly enjoyed knowing as many Cedar Rapidians as he did.
He was proud that his 2 daughters, Holly and Michelle and wife Karen also worked at the hotel.
He was proud to see his girls work with him like he did with his dad.
He was also honored to be asked year after year to speak at high schools and middle schools in Cedar Rapids and the surrounding city schools, about running a successful business and explaining how the Zazza family went from the plumbing/heating and construction business to the hotel, conventions and restaurant business.
Alan's hobbies were his work and family.
He always cherished the vacations, he enjoyed quality time with Karen, Michelle and Holly as well as times with his parents and sister as well as his in laws, John and Edie Hembree and trips with his nephews and daughters to Galena, Illinois.
He also enjoyed the many employees that worked with him for so many years.
He was proud he had so many employees that stayed with him for so long.
Department heads as well as hourly employees were always close to Alan and worked with him from day one.
Alan always knew that his long, long hours at work each week would mean missing time with his family.
However he always loved and adored his wife Karen of 29 years, and adored Michelle and Holly.
Every year Alan had an RV group that traveled to out of state football games, consisting of Ed and Molly Kempf, Bill and Karen Leichsenring of Amana, Mark and Deb Hartung, Ken and Kathy Terikina, and Jeff and Sara Braverman of Iowa City.
He always enjoyed driving his friends to these games in the Sheraton-Clarion Winnebago.
In June, 2002, Alan switched from Sheraton to Choice Hotels Clarion brand an d made many friends with that chain as well.
Alan enjoyed helping Kirkwood Community College in various departments as well.
When the Cedar Rapids Roughriders Hockey came to town, Alan hosted their opposing teams as well.
He also hosted the opposing football teams of Coe, Cornell and Grinnell..
Alan was a member of the Cedar Rapids Home Builder's Association, Cedar Rapids Chamber of Commerce and Elmcrest Country Club.
In the late 1980s, Alan enjoyed helping with the Willowbrook Residential Care Center for his dad and ram rodded the construction of that 80 unit facility.
Alan so much enjoyed the many companies that year after year remembered Alan with their company Christmas parties, as well as the hundreds of wedding receptions, rehearsal dinners and wedding anniversaries that would contact Alan personally to book and help with their function.
In 2005, Cedar Rapids Jefferson High School chose Alan to be a recipient of an Honorary Diploma for his years of service, speaking to their classes since the early 1990s.
He was so honored and happy to help Jefferson out with this.
In lieu of flowers, a memorial fund in Alan's name is being established for the education of business students at Cedar Rapids Jefferson High School.
