Michael Joseph Zelsmann

Michael Joseph Zelsmann was born on September 19, 1942, in Chicago, Ilinois to Jeanne & Ed Zelsmann.  Mike was an only child.  He grew up in Arlington Heights, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago.

Mike attended Notre Dame High School in Niles, Ilinois.  He earned a BS in Business/Marketing from St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas.

After graduation from St. Edward’s, Mike entered Officer Candidate School (OCS) at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma and graduated in March 1966.  He attained the rank of Captain in the Army and served in the 1 ^st Battalion (Honest John) 42 ^nd Artillery in South Korea from April 1966 to May 1967.  He was discharged in 1968.

Mike worked at various companies in advertising/marketing in the Chicago area.  He met his wife, Sandi (LaMountain), at one of those companies, Weber Marking Systems in Arlington Heights, Illinois.  They married on November 1 ^st , 1975.

Mike and Sandi moved to Plano, Texas in 1979.  He worked at Texas Instruments for 13 years, most of it as a marketing manager in the Defense and Electronics division.  He also worked at Oilwell Division of US Steel, Transamerica and Lucent in various advertising/marketing positions.

Throughout his career, Mike was very active in the Business Marketing Association, serving in various board positions.  He served as the President of the Dallas Chapter and was also on the association’s International Board of Directors.

Mike has one son, Mike Zelsmann, Jr, who lives in Tempe, Arizona with his wife Julie.  He has two granddaughters, Jolene (Bobby Kirk) and Willow (Isaiah Jones), and three grandsons, David Gomez (Talia), Nate Zelsmann and Miles Zelsmann.  They also have four great-grandsons, Teagan Kirk, Joshua Kirk, Micah Zelsmann and Arthas Jones, and six great-granddaughters, Shelby Kirk, Aspen Kirk, Arya Zelsmann, Kyla Zelsmann, Mia Gomez, Ellie Gomez and Dylan Jones.  All live in either Utah or Arizona. Michael is also survived by sisters-in-law Debbie Lass (Alan), Nancy LaMountain (Chris), Bonnie LaMountain, brother-in-law Fred LaMountain, niece Danielle Mendoza and nephew Cody LaMountain.

Mike enjoyed sports, especially baseball.  He was a die-hard Cubs fan and had fond memories of his mother taking him to Cubs day games at Wrigley Field when he was a youngster.  He and Sandi also had mini-season tickets for the Texas Rangers for several years.  He was a fan of the Dallas Cowboys and all Chicago sports teams, including the Chicago Bears, Chicago Bulls and Chicago Blackhawks.  Mike played in several 16” softball leagues in the Chicago area, primarily as a pitcher or first baseman.

Mike and Sandi enjoyed traveling when their busy work schedules allowed.  Some of their favorite destinations were Hawaii, Walt Disney World in Orlando, San Francisco, England, Scotland, Northern Italy and Switzerland.  They also spent a lot of time in the Ogden, Utah area visiting family there.  And, of course, Chicago was a frequent destination.

Mike spent his last five years living at Grand Brook Memory Care of McKinney and enjoyed  being spoiled by the caring and compassionate staff and caregivers there.

Graveside services will be held on Friday, April 28, 2023 at 11:15 a.m. at Dallas Ft. Worth National Cemetery, 2000 Mountain Creek Pkwy., Dallas, Texas 75211.

If desired, memorial contributions in Mike's honor may be made to Alzheimer's Association:

https://act.alz.org/site/SPageServer?pagename=donate