Clayton G. Zlomke

ZLOMKE, CLAYTON Clayton G. Zlomke, 81 of Waco, died Monday, December 20, 2004. A memorial service will be held at 2pm Thursday, December 23 at St. Matthew Lutheran Church with the Rev. Paul Krupicka officiating. Mr. Zlomke was born November 28, 1923 in St. Paul, Nebraska to George F. and Laura May Southard Zlomke; the second of their three children and only son. He was baptized on April 17, 1925 in St. Paul’s Methodist Church. Clayton, universally called “Bud” in St. Paul, for some unremembered reason, spent his growing-up years in this small town in rural Nebraska, mostly during a sustained period of severe economic depression, and many of his later memories involved considerable making-do with very little family money, and Dad and Son grabbing odd jobs whenever and wherever they occurred, for some immediate relief. Graduating from St. Paul High School in 1941, he entered engineering school at the University of Nebraska, using $500 in borrowed funds and a scholarship. Leaving the name “Bud” behind with the family he preferred “Clay” for the rest of his life. Studies in mechanical engineering school were interrupted in 1943, when he enlisted in the Army Air Corps, where he spent about three years, concluding his military assignments as a navigator-officer of B-29 aircraft. Resuming his studies at the university in the spring of 1946, Clay met Lola Fintel, formerly of Deshler, Nebraska, who was employed in Lincoln, and love blossomed into marriage a year later, on January 26, 1947. The Zlomkes left Lincoln upon graduation in 1948, for his first professional job in Kansas City as a petroleum process engineer, finding out how things really worked. Then he transferred to the Phillips Research Division, and at the new Rocket Fuels Division operation in McGregor. While there, work evolved through supervisory roles into the management of design and development for Rocketdyne. The family, living in nearby Waco, now included four great children, Robert, Susan, Steven and later, Ellen. Clay finally found himself retiring, at age 62, as Director of Engineering of the Costa Mesa Operation in California, of the Brunswick Corporation, a defense and aerospace plant. Two years later, Clay and Lola, now living alone in Southern California, decided in 1988 to return to Waco. Energy levels remained high, and volunteer tasks came along to fill in the time for several years. Mr. Zlomke was a past member of the Texas Professional Engineers Organization, where he served the Central Texas Chapter as president-elect. He served as Chairman of the Central Texas Chapter of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, as well as Certified Ohmbudsman in a Waco nursing home for the Texas Department on Aging. As an outgrowth of this assignment, Clay held “Clay’s Hour” for eight years, where he sought to interest, encourage, and inspire the residents on various topical matters. He was a Board Member of the McLennan County Children’s Protective Board, and also was on the Board of the Central Texas Senior Ministry. He served as chairman of the building committee for two major expansions of St. Matthew Lutheran Church, over a period of 25 years. He also served in several other offices of St. Matthew, including Council Member, Men’s Club President, Church School Superintendent, and Church School Teacher. He was also a member of the service club, Civitan International, serving one year as President. Clay was preceded in death by his parents, his older sister, Georgia, and in 1984 tragically by his daughter, Ellen, which profoundly affected his life, instantly and permanently. Things were never the same for him. He is survived by his wife of almost 58 years, Lola; son, Robert and daughter-in-law, Evelyn and their children, Minta and Reuben all of Napa, California; daughter, Susan Stockburger and her children, Inge, Peter, Anya, Jesse and Ellen all of Montgomery, New York; son, Steven and daughter-in-law, Vivianne of Geneva, Switzerland. He is also survived by his sister, Janet and brother-in-law, Verne McKenzie of Naples, Florida, as well as by 16 nieces and nephews, and by John Withers of Waco, his longtime friend. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to Lutheran Social Services of the South or St. Catherine Care Center. The family invites you to leave a message or memory in our “Memorial Guestbook” at www.wilkirsonhatchbailey.com. WILKIRSON-HATCH-BAILEY