John Miles ZENTMYER

1912 - 1997  (85 years)

• Name	John Miles ZENTMYER
  Birth	22 Jan 1912	North Platte, Lincoln, Nebraska
  Gender	Male
  Death	9 Feb 1997	Manhattan Beach, Los Angeles, California
  Burial	13 Feb 1997	Forest Lawn Cemetery, Glendale, Los Angeles, California, Sunrise Slope #6207
  Notes	John Zentmyer was born in North Platte, Nebraska, and migrated to Los Angeles with his parents and brother in 1918. He met his wife May Hobart while attending UCLA, and after marrying her, secured work with the Southern California Gas Company and subsequently with the newly-formed Civil Aeronautics Administration, the precursor to the Federal Aviation Administration. After a long career as an Air Traffic Controller and Administrator with the FAA he retired, then went back to school and studied nursing, earning an LVN degree. He was hired by Torrance Memorial Hospital and spent a number of years working there. A life-long Presbyterian, he was known for his charitable activities, his love of big bands music, and of books, especially about Sherlock Holmes and the Donner Party. (two different genres) He took up distance running in his 60's and completed many marathons, including a first-place finish at the Valley of the Flowers marathon in Lompoc in 1990. John graduated from UCLA on 22 Jun 1934 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science.
  Person ID	I2345	Zentmeyer Main Tree
  Last Modified	16 Nov 2021

  
  

  Father	George Aubrey ZENTMYER,   b. 2 May 1880, Schuyler, Colfax, Nebraska d. 17 Jan 1968, Riverside, Riverside, California (Age 87 years)
  Mother	Mary Elizabeth STRAHORN,   b. 22 Dec 1885, Sterling, Logan, Colorado d. 12 May 1973, Riverside, Riverside, California (Age 87 years)
  Marriage	28 Apr 1910	North Platte, Nebraska
  Family ID	F365	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	May Elizabeth HOBART,   b. 22 Oct 1914, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California d. 20 Nov 2008, Baldwin Park, Los Angeles, California (Age 94 years)
  Marriage	16 Jul 1938	Los Angeles, California
  Children	1. John Hobart ZENTMYER   2. Gary Arthur ZENTMYER + 3. Jean Elizabeth ZENTMYER
  Photos		May and John Zentmyer A view at 644 N. Manhattan Place shortly after May and John's wedding. Photo from the Zentmyer Collection.
  		A fine day in 1949 at 644 N. Manhattan Place, Hollywood From the Zentmyer Collection. Top: Gary, John, and May Zentmyer, Mary Strahorn Zentmyer, Jeanette and Frank Hobart. Bottom: John H. Zentmyer, Frank Hobart Jr., the likely photographer being George Zentmyer Sr. So, John was 37, May was 35. This photograph was colorized from a black-and-white original with the AI program DeOldify, which apparently wasn't told about all the red hair.
  Family ID	F366	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	22 May 2018

  
  

• Photos » Slide Show		Mary Zentmyer and her son John in 1912. From the Zentmyer Collection. It's amazing all that hair made it through the birth canal.
  		John Zentmyer circa 1916 From the Zentmyer Collection. A handsome boy, four years old
  		Los Angeles Times 17 Nov 1918 featuring George and Mary Zentmyer and their sons John and George Jr. From the Zentmyer Collection, Mary holding George Jr., John walking between Mary and George. They were not identified in the article. They were likely returning to their temporary residence at the home of Mary's aunt, Alfaretta (Retta) Strahorn Scott, and her husband Waldo.
  		Zentmyers and Strahorns on the porch, 1920 From the Zentmyer Collection. Likely at the Strahorn's house at 521 W. 27th Street, Los Angeles. From left - John Zentmyer, his mother Mary, Sarah and John Calvin Strahorn, George Zentmyer, and John's brother George Jr. This image was colorized from black and white photo using the AI program DeOldify. A pretty good result.
  		George Zentmyer family house in Las Vegas in 1923 From the Zentmyer Collection. Photo taken by his son John Zentmyer age 11, with his Brownie camera.
  		Pack Trip, Eastern Sierra, 1933 From the Zentmyer Collection. Family lore says George took his sons John and George Jr. on a pack trip in the Eastern Sierras after their High School graduations. This image is consistent with this story, and shows John and his father George, with George Jr. being the likely photographer. This is probably the start of the trip, as there are corrals and gear visible.
  		John Zentmyer at work From the Zentmyer Collection. John spent most of his career working for the Federal Aviation Administration, and before that its precursor, the Civil Aeronautics Administration. Here he is directing traffic at Oakland Airport in California.
  		John Miles Zentmyer From the Zentmyer Collection.
  		John's response to a 1984 tribute to Glenn Miller on KCET. John's children always knew of his fondness for the music of the big bands, as he had recordings of these bands in many formats and played them often. But we were surprised by the emotional content of this short piece, as most of John's journal writings were narrative matter-of-fact notations. We can't help but wonder what happened during those early war years that engendered this enduring emotional response.
  		John finishing at the Valley of the Flowers Marathon in Lompoc, California, 1990 From the Zentmyer Collection. John at the age of 78 won first place in his division Men 70-79, so beating all those young guys in their early seventies.
  		Headstone for John Miles Zentmyer Located at Forest Lawn Cemetery, Glendale, Los Angeles, California - Sunrise Slope #6207-3 Photo courtesy Gary Zentmyer
  		Location of Headstones in Forest Lawn Cemetery Sunrise Slope #6207, corner of Sunrise Way and Memory Lane near 'Overell' statue Image courtesy Gary Zentmyer