Robert William "Bob" Zahm

Robert "Bob" William Zahm, age 66, passed away on March 11, 2011. He was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania on January 1, 1945 to Ruth and William Zahm. Bob's life encompassed many interests and several careers. His lifelong love of the arts awoke in high school when he joined the drama club, with whom he designed sets and attended Broadway shows. Bob then followed the family tradition and studied engineering at the University of Michigan. He became a photographer for The Wolverine Yearbook, with one picture finding its way into an international photography magazine. After graduation, he married and moved to Worthington, Ohio, where he had two fun-loving children, Brian and Leslie. Bob went back to college several times during his life as he acquired in turn new passions for architecture, computer programming, and his final love, pottery. He put his knowledge to use as a realtor, a designer of homes and apartments, a software engineer, and a potter. His ongoing love of the arts extended to attending shows in the performing arts, building sets for The Worthington Community Theater and Vaud-Vilities, and taking every opportunity to visit an art gallery. Bob immersed himself in everything he did. He loved working with his hands and creating beauty. His family and friends knew him for his quick wit, practical jokes, intense curiosity, love of birds, and never turning down a dessert. And one last thing, despite spending most of his life in the Buckeye State, he was always a Wolverine. Bob is survived by his beloved wife of 16 years, M. Irene Lightner Zahm; daughter, Leslie Zahm; and son, Brian Zahm; step-children, Mary (Rob Rothwell) Lightner , Matthew (Denise) Lightner ; and his step-granddaughters, Heather, Holly, Jordan, and Lindsey; and a lineage of loving Zahms. He was predeceased by his father, mother, and brother Richard Zahm. Visitation will be from 2-4 and 6-8 p.m. Thursday, March 17, 2011 at RUTHERFORD-CORBIN FUNERAL HOME, 515 High St., Worthington, OH 43085. Memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, March 18, 2011 at St. Francis of Assisi Church, 386 Buttles Ave., Columbus, OH 43215. Private family burial will be later. Donations in his memory may be made to the Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute or to Ohio Health's HomeReach Hospice.