Longtime 'dean' of School Board dies at age 71

"Phil'' Zellner, known for his matter-of-fact way of speaking during his 24 years of service, was a strong advocate for students.

By BARBARA BEHRENDT

© St. Petersburg Times, published June 8, 2000

INVERNESS -- Former School Board member Millard Fillmore "Phil" Zellner, known for his storytelling, his plain-speaking manner and his interest in helping children, died Wednesday (June 7, 2000). He was 71. Mr. Zellner, who had battled cancer, was surrounded by family when he died.

A 24-year member of the School Board, Mr. Zellner chose not to seek re-election in 1990. He said he wanted to try moving at a slower pace, and also wanted to give new people a chance to serve the educational community.

On Wednesday, colleagues remembered Mr. Zellner as a public servant who always kept the best interests of the students first. But they also remembered a friend who brought peach preserves to fellow board members during the holidays, served as surrogate grandfather for their children and who loved to survey his 400-acre cattle range, go frogging and tend his garden.

"It's a sad day to say the least," said Carl Austin, former school superintendent and a personal friend of Mr. Zellner. "Another person who really was instrumental in the shaping of this county from the educational side is gone. It's a real loss."

Austin, who met Mr. Zellner in the 1970s, said Mr. Zellner was "the dean of the board" during his time in public service.

"He'd speak his peace really directly, and you always knew where Phil Zellner stood," Austin recalled. "He was not one who minced words, and I respected him for that."

While Mr. Zellner took the job of being a good board member seriously, he took a special interest in the school in his own back yard: Floral City Elementary School.

"Phil was always parked out front. He'd pull up in his pickup truck," recalled school official James Hughes, who is a former Floral City principal and former superintendent. "He just wanted to be supportive and let people know he was there to help them."

Hughes said Mr. Zellner was one of the first people he went to see when he became principal.

"He took me out in his truck and we toured his citrus groves and he shared his wisdom with me," Hughes said. "Over the course of the years, I made a lot of trips to those citrus groves and the cornfield with Phil. He was a great person, especially for someone like me who was inexperienced . . . He was a mentor."

During his board tenure, an addition was proposed for the elementary school. Mr. Zellner dug in his heels and argued that the old oak tree slated for cutting to make room for the addition had to stay.

"At a board meeting, he told them just what that tree meant, not just to the kids who'd gone to the school but for all the kids to come," Hughes recalled. "He told them about how the kids would sit under the tree, told them the story in a way only Phil Zellner could tell a story."

The addition was redesigned, and the tree remains.

David Langer, who served on the board with Mr. Zellner for 16 years, said he would love to see the district memorialize the former board member, possibly at that tree site.

"Phil was the glue that held the school system together," Langer said. "He was an icon for the Citrus County school system and a good friend."

Langer was able to chuckle over the time that Mr. Zellner called him and told him the corn in his field, which was reportedly some of the best to be found, was ready to be picked. Langer told his friend he'd come pick some.

When Langer showed up a day later with his picking gear, Mr. Zellner growled at him for not dropping everything and running out immediately to pick. Mr. Zellner told Langer he'd never call him again on corn picking, and he never did. But the two spent many a lunch time together since their retirement from the board.

His friends recall Mr. Zellner's happiness to share stories and his famous recipe for wiping out troublesome fire ants. Dig a hole, add grits and the ants would eat the grits and later explode.

"I remember a lot of those stories about Phil Zellner," said Karen Johnson, former School Board member and former state senator. "He was really unique in everything that he did. He was an individual, and his main focus was always on kids and he held strong."

Another of Mr. Zellner's battles was to keep portable classrooms off school campuses. That was part of what he called "the kid business" or "school-boarding."

Austin said it turned out that Mr. Zellner was right; portables weren't such a good idea. "He wasn't doing any of that for himself," he said. "I'm really going to miss him."

At the time of his retirement, Mr. Zellner described his contribution to the board by saying: "I've always been able to keep my priorities in order, and I think that has rubbed off on the people around me. I think if I've had any contribution, then it's been that I've always asked that we keep those kids in front of us."

A Citrus County native, Mr. Zellner graduated from Citrus High School in 1947 and was a retired rancher and farmer. He was a member of the Airboat Association, the Floral City Water Board, the Floral City Church of Christ and was an Army veteran from the Korean War.

He is survived by his wife, Sylvia; two daughters, Paula Zellner, Fort Collins, Colo., and Dena Sanicola, Artesia, Calif.; a brother, John, Floral City; a sister, Marjorie Robinson, Lakeland; six grandchildren; and nieces and nephews.

Memorial service

A memorial service is planned for 10:30 a.m. Saturday at the Inverness Chapel of Hooper Funeral Homes. Burial will follow at the Hills of Rest Cemetery in Floral City. Visitation is set for 5 to 8 p.m. Friday at the funeral home.

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