Robert "Bob" L. Zubeck, a first-generation American who farmed in the
Deerfield area for many years, died Nov. 22, 2020, at High Plains
Retirement Village. He was 94.
Born June 5, 1926, in Deerfield, to Joseph and Josephine Zubeck, who
immigrated to the United States separately in the early 1900s and
married in the eastern U.S., he attended Deerfield High School. He
married Doris Rector on June 15, 1947, in Deerfield. She died on Nov. 9,
2016.
He grew sugar beets, wheat, milo, corn and soybeans and raised chickens,
cattle, pigs, and sheep on farms south and north of Deerfield.
He lived his entire life in Kearny County, Kansas, except for one year
when his family moved to Ohio during the Great Depression. Besides
farming with his brothers, most notably Tom Zubeck, he ran Deerfield
Recreation for several years and worked at Central Power and other
implement dealers in Garden City.
He loved to play bridge, pitch and cribbage, work crossword puzzles and
read three newspapers and many magazines regularly. He relished telling
stories of his youth when he sold eggs from his flock of chickens for 10
cents a dozen, and of his many experiences being part of the Deerfield
community. He also was proud of his sugar beet crops, which took top
prize at the Kansas State Fair. He always grew a garden in his backyard,
and he and his wife teamed up to can peaches every year for decades.
He was an avid bowler and traveled with his wife to tournaments across Kansas and to Reno, Nevada.
He was a member of the Deerfield Lions Club, served as a volunteer on
the Deerfield Fire Department and helped with the Deerfield Methodist
Brotherhood groundhog supper for decades, refining the art of cooking
sausage. He also kept the scorebook for Deerfield High School boys
basketball games for many years and ran the chain for high school
football games.
Always good with his hands, he enjoyed carpentry and built book shelves
for his home as well as for his children’s homes, and crafted a lighted
“Merry Christmas” sign that blazed from the Zubeck roof during the
holidays. He also was instrumental in his kids’ participation in 4-H
animal projects.
He moved to High Plains Retirement Village in 2013 where he made friends
with all the staff members. His trademark was handing out chocolate
candies to the staff and residents while tooling around the hallways on
his scooter. His signature activity was growing tomatoes, peppers and
zinnias in the planter boxes there.
He survived COVID-19 but suffered a broken hip as he was about to return to his regular room on Oct. 25.
He was the last surviving member of the American Zubeck family and was
preceded in death by his parents; his wife; brothers, Tom, Jim, Frank,
John and Joe, and George, two infant sisters, Bessie and Mary, and an
infant brother buried in the eastern U.S.; sisters- and brothers-in-law
Juanita and Don Peterson, and Barbara and Les Cline; nieces Norma
Sanchez and Kathleen Smith, and son-in-law Tony Cunningham.
He is survived by his son, Jan (Gloria) Zubeck of El Paso, Texas;
daughters, Pam Cunningham, and Ann (Dan) Brink of Colorado Springs; step
sister Fern Moore of Wichita; nieces, Ginger Sonderegger of Leoti,
Glenda Crone of Garden City, Cherry Zubeck and Regina Derryberry of
Fresno, Calif., Patsy Brimm of Garden City, Katrina Peterson of
California; nephews, Alan Zubeck of Fresno, and Jim Zubeck of Great
Bend, Nick Peterson of Albany, California and Alan Peterson of
Australia, and granddaughter, Stephanie Brink, and grandson, Bernie
Brink, both of Colorado Springs.
Burial will be in Deerfield Cemetery. A celebration of his long life
will take place at a later date. The family suggests memorial
contributions to the Deerfield Recreation Commission, specifically the
Deerfield Celebration, which he attended for many years, in care of
Garnand Funeral Home of Lakin, Kansas.