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James Van Zant
VanZant, who had been in ill health for a time, died at 1:30 a.m., in St. Mary’s Hospital, Huntington, at the age of 81.
His wife of 51 years, Barbara (Oakes) VanZant, and other family members were close by when he departed this earth.
I lost a close friend, with whom I shared 30 years of co-working at the Williamson Daily News and common interests in community events. “Jim” or “Van,” as some friends called him, was sports editor, city editor and then editor of this newspaper.
“Jim” is remembered by football fans of the area as the man who helped establish the Kiwanis Senior Bowl, a southern West Virginia football classic that was held annually over a long period of years. He has long served the Williamson Kiwanis Club and was president in earlier years.
Although retired with wife Barbara at their Fairview Addition home, “Jim” kept abreast of sports and wrote a popular Daily News column, “Van’s Slants,” for many years. He served the Williamson Corps of the Salvation Army and was a past chairman of the SA Advisory Board.
He joined the Daily News staff about 1949, although he had actually written accounts of such local events as Youth League games while still in high school.
He was a graduate of Williamson High School, earned a master’s degree plus 33 hours at Marshall University, and did outstanding reporting on sports during his three decades with the Daily News. He also wrote about area development and other articles bearing on this area’s economy and well-being.
His journalistic career was interrupted for two years (1953-1955) when he served in the United States Army.
He left the journalistic beat to serve as instructor of Graphic Communications at the Mingo County Vocational-Technical Center at Delbarton for over 12 years.
One of his main interests had to do with sports in this area and he excelled as sports editor at the Daily News. He was a past president of the West Virginia Sportswriters Association and was recipient of that organization’s Gene Morehouse Award for Achievement in 1982.
He was associated with the baseball program of Eph Boggs Post No. 49, The American Legion, for many years. Most of the time, he served as coach and accompanied the AL team to distant cities to take part in regional or higher competition. He was credited with molding the characters of many young men who played American Legion baseball.
During his active years, “Jim” served as a member of Williamson’s City Council, representing the Fourth Ward (West Williamson). He was a candidate for the House of Delegates from Mingo County in 1992 but lost his bid for that post.
For three years, he served as general manager of the Pikeville, Ky., professional rookie league team, sponsored by the Milwaukee Brewers one year and the Chicago Cubs for two seasons.
“Jim” was a teenager at the time, but recalled the Williamson Red Birds baseball team in the Mountain League and Stan Musial, who played with the local team in the 1939-42 era before joining the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League and winning fame and fortune.
In earlier years, “Jim” and Barbara co-owned and operated the Williamson Dairy Queen for 13 years. They celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in high fashion July 12, 2008, when their son and two daughters hosted a tremendous event in the historic Mountaineer Hotel ballroom.
“Jim” was a member of the West Virginia Education Association for years and a member of the Tug Valley Chamber of Commerce’s Better Roads Committee, which succeeded in several important road construction efforts.
During his varied careers, he supported efforts to obtain better roads in this area; sought improved benefits for teachers and retired public employees, and promoted new industry for this area. In whatever endeavor he pursued, he was noted for his honest, dedicated and experienced approach to problems.
He and his wife are longtime active members of the First United Methodist Church.
Born May 5, 1928, he was a son of the late William and Cornelia (Me-yer) VanZant of William-son. He was also preceded in death by a brother, Thomas VanZant, and two sisters, Katharine Robinson and Billie Jean Wells.
Survivors in addition to his wife are a son, Greg VanZant, baseball coach at West Virginia University, and wife, Leslie, Morgan-town; two daughters, Susan VanZant Yablonsky, a Wil-liamson attorney, who re-sides with her husband Greg and stepchildren, Christian and Emily Yab-lonsky, in Barboursville, and Patricia Dunham, a WVU graduate who teaches in the Kanawha County school system and resides at Teays Valley with husband Jeff Dunham and sons, Alexander and Nathaniel Dunham.
Funeral services are scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Sunday at the First United Methodist Church in Williamson with the Rev. Greg Blair, pastor, officiating.
Visitations will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Saturday at Weaver Mortuary in West Williamson.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions be made to the Jim VanZant Baseball Scholarship Endowment Fund at West Virginia University, P.O. Box 0877, Morgantown, WV, 26508.
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