Zander Ponzo- 2/28/1941- 2/4/2021

Zander Ponzo 
February 28, 1941- February 4, 2021

Obituary: Zander Ponzo, 1941-2021 

Longtime UVM faculty member also served as Oakledge Park Bocce Club president

click to enlarge

• COURTESY PHOTO
• Zander Ponzo

Zander Ponzo of Burlington, Vt., passed away unexpectedly on February 4, 2021. He was born and raised in New York and attended Stuyvesant High School and City College of New York. Shortly after receiving his PhD from the University of Wisconsin, he came to Vermont, where he briefly taught at Saint Michael’s College before joining the faculty at the University of Vermont, where lasting friendships held a special place in his heart.

Zander will be remembered for his honesty, integrity and concern for others. He was a kind, gentle man and modeled living well and simply. His dedication to lifelong learning focused on making aging an exciting challenge, believing that by extending our boundaries and accepting our losses, we become more fully alive. He will be missed. Zander brought a unique sense of humor and richness to those who knew him. He wanted us to celebrate his death with joy for his life.

Zander volunteered in multiple local organizations. He was instrumental in envisioning and bringing to fruition the bocce courts at Oakledge Park, and he served as the Bocce Club president for many years. He was a sports enthusiast and looked forward every year to UVM’s basketball games.

Zander’s mission was to “...involve myself in activities, events and people that I value, as this will bring fulfilling enjoyment in the moment, and restful contemplation of the past.”

Zander leaves his sister Elaine Evers (Florida), nephew David Evers (New Zealand), niece Judy Perry (Pennsylvania) and nephew Paul Evers (New Jersey), along with his two dear friends, Dan Ross (New York) and Gail Wheeler (Burlington, Vt).

A memorial service will be held at a later date.

Remembering Zander

1941-2021 

The Burlington Bocce Club would like to recognize the tremendous effort and achievement of Zander Ponzo in bringing the wonderful game of bocce to Burlington. Zanders’ vision for a Burlington Bocce club was born during a trip to New Zealand. With help from the city, the local  Bosnian community, and the Vermont Italian Club,  Zander 

led the  effort for funding and the construction of our two original courts built in 2007.  Along with being its founder,  Zander  served as club president for several years. He was a very skilled player. He was always difficult to beat and always willing to share his love of bocce with others. The original club had about 20 members. Last year’s club embership approached 200 players of all ages and backgrounds.  Zanders’ quest  became a reality! 

We are proud to name our two novice tournaments in his honor, the Zander  Ponzo Novice Singles and the Zander Ponzo Novice Doubles Tournaments. This seems very fitting in that Zander has brought so many to the game of bocce. We will miss his presence and be forever grateful for his gift.

The Burlington Bocce Club 2021

http://burlingtonbocce.com/remembering-zander/

Family gathering at Paul's 2015

Burlington Bocce Courts

Jeff visiting Zander in Burlington when he was at a conference

At the beach in Burlington

Video with Dani at her first day of school in Hong Kong.  Zander was there.

Thursday August 1, 1963

This is an article from April 1976

The Other Olympics 

When it comes to sport, some Burlington refugees are always game

By KEVIN J. KELLEYAugust 6, 2008

In this quiet corner of the park, a small community of Bosnians - now naturalized citizens like Sehovic - meet twice a week as the Burlington Bocce Club, a.k.a. BBC. Last week, the players and their families took over the picnic tables and set up additional lawn chairs along the perimeter of the courts, smoking, playing, and chatting amongst themselves.

"It's a social game," said Sehovic, who was sitting next to his granddaughter Elma. "I'm relaxed when I play bocce. If I have a headache during the day, I come here and it's gone. It's like therapy." Before the courts were built, Sehovic and his friends played wherever they could find a level lawn.

That changed two years ago when Zander Ponzo, a retired UVM professor, teamed up with the Bosnians to formally establish the BBC and advocate for the construction of courts to the Burlington Parks & Recreation Commission. With its approval, Ponzo, who is half Italian and half Russian, sent

a grant proposal to the National Italian American Foundation. He made the case that bocce is to Burlington's current Bosnian community what it once was to the city's Italian-Americans. Last June the BBC received $3000 from the NIAF in addition to an anonymous donation of $2000 to finance construction.

Ponzo now enjoys his retirement playing on the courts he and the Bosnians built and now maintain together.

"It's a great addition to Parks & Rec," said Ponzo. "I think without the Bosnians we don't have a club, and without them we don't have bocce courts, either. They've been instrumental, and I think this club fits in perfectly with the ethos of Burlington."

He added that watching the Bosnians play and interact in their language reminds him of the old Italian men he watched play bocce as a child in New York City - his "old country."

"Those guys were very colorful, but I didn't understand them," Ponzo said. "So in some ways I feel comfortable here, because at times I don't understand the Bosnians, either."

Dani received this Christmas card from Zander toward the end of January 2021.  Maybe the last card that he wrote.

Dave Evers

February 21, 2021

Zander was our only Uncle and I have memories of him from when we were little Judy, Paul and I being so excited waiting for him to visit either in Matawan or in Maine.   I remember him staying with us in Stones Camps and him swimming across highland lake, taking us to miniature golf and playing tennis.  We used to laugh a lot.  

As I got older over the past 30 years I stayed at his place with him many times and also when he was not there.  He was always generous and welcoming.  We went skiing in the winter (he bought me my first and the only skis I ever owned as a college graduation gift) and sailing in the summer. We did some bike rides and went to the waterfront and beach.   Over the years I got to know his girlfriends and their kids.

After college Jeff and I used to go visit Zander in Burlington and had some great talks with him in his  living room,  over dinner or sitting on the back porch looking at the view of the lake.   I used to play in Men's hockey tournaments in Montreal and Zander would drive up and watch the games.  

Zander was very blunt and honest and talked to us as adults even from when we were little kids.  I remember him often asking us kids to be more quiet in the car and also to not talk over each other.  I remember when me and my Mom drove up to Burlington together in her Volkswagon Bug (maybe I was 12 or 13) and stayed with him for a few days.  We were watching a movie and he asked me to please breathe more quietly :).    

Many times over the years when I was having personal or professional challenges  I would call Zander and he was always a great person to talk with and helped me in my decision making.  My career and lifestyle decisions to work in universities were very much influenced by Zander.  Even now where we are living in New Zealand was influenced by Zander's love of this country and him telling me about his visits to Nelson. 

Over the last few years I have been happy that I have been able to visit him twice in Burlington with Grace and Dani and they were able to spend time with Zander, see his place and experience Burligton.   Zander also came to visit us when we first moved to Hong Kong and stayed a few days.  He went with me and Dani when she did her first day at the Harvest Pre -School and we went to the Ocean Park amusement park by our house.  

I spoke with Zander a few weeks ago on the phone for the first time in a few years and we talked for about 30 minutes.   Ironically, I had called him because of the health issues with my Mom.  He sounded the same as always and said all was good and just adjusting to doing less with aging.  He talked about the increasing challenges of climbing up and down the three flights of stairs to his apartment.  I told him that I had started to ocean swim in Auckland.  He told me that swimming was good and that he had been lazy and had swan for a while.  I am afraid that our conversation may have influenced him to take that last swim.  As my friend the Git said it was good I motivated him to do something he loved.  I think his favorite jobs may have been working as a lifeguard at City Beach or working at Wollman Ice Skating Rink in Central Park.  

Zander lived his life the way he wanted to live.  He may not have always been aware how much he influenced other people.  It was difficult to understand his extreme frugality for someone who was very wealthy.   He seems to have been very generous anonymously to charities but to friends and family small amounts of money may have caused issues in relationships which was sad.   

I regret for Zander that spending money on himself seemed to be so difficult and he could have enjoyed his retirement life much more if he did not have such an aversion to spending money.  As I have learned other things from Zander I try to keep this in mind when I am hesitant to spend money.  As Shelly used to say we have the Evers cheap gene.

Besides my parents Zander was the adult that I have known the longest and had the most influence on my life.  Though I did not talk to him much over the past few years he would always reply with comments on Dani's blog posts (up until recently with Covid and he could not go to the library) and I think he enjoyed being kept up to date our life.  The last thing he said to me on the phone, and wrote in his card to Dani,  was that he would like to come visit us in New Zealand.  That did not happen in person but he will remain with us in spirit.