Michael Zelanko

When Scott Peck penned the title of his book, The Road Less Traveled, he may have very well been thinking about Michael Zelanko. Michael was born on June 26th, 1950 in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. At first glance that may not seem like a particularly unusual entry into this world, but what made his birth unique was the fact that he was born 6 weeks premature to John H. and Rosella Figard Zelanko at a time when most infants did not survive such an early birth. Despite the rocky road that he traversed when he entered this world, he flourished and soon joined his parents and older siblings, in the small mountain village of Kearney, Pennsylvania.

The peacefulness of that small village gave Michael a special appreciation for solitude as well as the importance of high quality and meaningful relationships as opposed to having multiple superficial relationships. Likewise, he learned the meaning of hard work and providing for family as he watched his father’s hard work as a coal miner and his mother’s strong belief in the meaning of caring for family. Although life’s early road may appear to have been idyllic, Michael’s mother’s health was fragile at best during his early years. This left his older sisters, Pearl and Shirley, having to assume much of the child raising responsibilities during his early childhood.

As life’s highway turned toward his school age years, he continued to have a deep appreciation for solitude as well as caring for others and hard work. He would wait until the rest of the house was quiet at night and only then begin to start his homework, because he found the solitude of the night the best venue for homework. He was also known for his desire to stay in during school recess and to create something that he felt was beautiful as opposed to playing with his classmates during their recess time. The encouragement of his parents and siblings led him to take a right turn to further his education at State College, where he obtained a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Penn State University. This made Michael the first member of his family to obtain a college degree. Although he rarely mentioned this feat, he was always grateful for the support of his family during this period of his life.

During the early years of his career, he felt a certain amount of restlessness that led him to travel multiple roads and nursing positions in Pennsylvania. His restlessness led him to take an uncharted roadway when he left his beloved Pennsylvania and began a solo flight to Texas to expand his horizon. His journey to Texas resulted in him arriving in Dallas in the midst of the great heat wave of Dallas, Texas in 1980. He occasionally commented that the contrast between the brown parched earth that he found in Texas and the lush and humid green of his beloved Pennsylvania was a little overwhelming at first, but he soon found a position at Baylor University Medical Center and settled in to a career in Mental Health Nursing. In 1989, several events influenced his decision to take the freeway that led him a little south to the Veterans Administration of North Texas Healthcare System. After a brief time as a Mental Health Staff Nurse, he chose to join a brand new VA venture in meeting the needs of Homeless Veterans. As he crisscrossed between Dallas and Ft. Worth he recognized that there was a large population of homeless veterans in Ft. Worth. He returned to Dallas with data in hand and encouraged hospital administrators to begin a program for Homeless Veterans in Ft. Worth. He led that program to his retirement in early 2008.

His arrival in Dallas in 1980 not only meant that he had to establish himself professionally, but he had left the family he loved and had find a new boulevard where he could grow personally as well as professionally while being far from the home he loved. One July evening in 1981, he found himself coordinating the emergency care of a patient that had become unresponsive. Although focused on assisting the physicians caring for that patient, he noticed the actions of a young nursing assistant who he had met only a month before ; and was impressed with her seemingly natural ability to help manage the crisis situation. As soon as the crisis was over he quickly made an effort to ask the nursing assistant for a date. Although she turned down his first request, he did not give up and within two weeks, they had their first date.

Within days of that first date, Michael and Jeanie knew that it was a forever relationship. They married on November 20th, 1982. Over the next 37 years, they journeyed together. Supporting each other’s careers and launching a family were their primary goals during the early years of their marriage. Their dedication to their goals resulted in the birth of Elise and then three years later; David arrived to complete their family. The couple’s journey on the thoroughfare of life resulted in exploration of new territories that took them throughout much of the Western Hemisphere with ongoing plans for their next adventure always a topic of discussion.

While their world-view grew, so did their family-view change when their grandson, Kellen Walker, arrived in November of 2016. While Jeanie’s career continued, Mike’s responsibilities found him as the chief babysitter; relearning the activities inherent in caring for infants. He enjoyed that path up until just a few hours before his death after a long battle with congestive heart failure and cardiomyopathy. He ended his journey surrounded by family and long-time friends on January 29th.

He is preceded in death by his parents John H and Rosella Zelanko as well as two siblings, Betty Zelanko-Barton and Johnny Zelanko. He is survived by his wife, Jeanie Hammett-Zelanko, PhD as well as two children, Elise (Derek) and David along with his beloved grandson Kellen. His extended family includes five remaining siblings, Pearl Fessler of Kearney, Pennsylvania; Shirley Wright of Windber, Pennsylvania; Lee (Libby) Zelanko of Saxton, Pennsylvania; Kay (Brad) Walters of Dillsburg, Pennsylvania; and Danny (Paula) Zelanko of Kearney, Pennsylvania and a host of nieces and nephews.

Michael’s journey ended much earlier that he wanted it to end and he openly verbalized his desire to do everything possible to continue that journey until a brief 48 hours before his life ended. His wishes included that Jeanie continue their travels while he traveled in her heart. His absence from the road of life as well the lives of his family; the veterans in whose lives he helped changed; and friends’ fond memories of his cooking skills will be missed for years to come.

There will be a memorial service to celebrate Michael’s life on Wednesday, February 5, 2020 at 2:00 P.M. at Allen Family Funeral Options; officiated by Chaplain Rodney Bolejack.