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The Memorial service for Zola was held last Sunday.

Many have asked if they could get a recording of the service to watch. Ken Berg’s staff filmed the service and they will be making a video, which will be offered through the ministry. They’re very busy with upcoming TV shows right now, but this will be available in time. And if possible, it will be available for watching on the website.

Ken Berg had recreated Zola’s TV set on stage—the bookcase along with Zola’s actual desk and chair. On Zola’s desk was a chess set, a few musical recorders Zola played, and there was a set of his golf clubs nearby. There was a small group of musicians on stage and Sammy Davenport, Zola’s musical arranger, was playing piano with them. This was all held in the brand new movie theater-like auditorium of the Fellowship Bible Church, where Zola’s congregation meets weekly. It is actually in an old movie theater that they renovated and was just opened last month. From what I could tell, I think it was about two-thirds full.

There was a welcoming prayer and then Zola’s wife, Sandra greeted us and said a few words. Ken Berg talked about the set on stage and told some stories about Zola’s chair and desk. These were second-hand pieces and have always been a bit rickety. But they served their purpose. Ken then told some of his memories about Zola. This led into a video memorial that he created of clips from Zola over the years. It was just wonderful to see.

Sammy Davenport talked about his memories of Zola and his music—how Zola would give him music written on napkins and air sickness bags. How he said Zola kept him around when he found out that Sammy could fix Zola’s ice maker. I can relate to that comment. I have gotten many late-night phone calls from Zola needing help to get his iPod or TiVo or PC or PC printer to work. Sammy and the orchestra played a medley of some of Zola’s music, including one of his last, written to Sandra. This is the one that Zola played on the “A Personal Note” TV episode.

Zola had his hand in so many things, with the TV show, newsletters, book-writing, lecturing—but he said what really touched him is when people reacted to his music. Music was his first love and he never left it. To TV viewers, it may seem like an afterthought or sideline, but it still really meant a lot to him. He wrote just about all the music used on the TV show and never stopped writing. When there was a lull at a conference or speaking engagement, Zola would often hop on the piano and play a little interlude. He was even very critical of the transitional music on TV shows that they play when coming out of commercial—he just couldn’t listen to most of it (“Why do they need to put in all those drums?!”). A consummate musician. He often had to have restaurants turn their music down when it interrupted the mood. At one in particular, when she saw Zola come in the door the hostess would run for the stereo to turn it off.

Anyway, at some point, Ken showed a “blooper reel” of outtakes from Zola’s TV show. They were very funny and just a joy to watch—something we really needed at a memorial service.

There were three speakers and all of them were just great. First, Zola’s good friend, Dr. Tom McCall spoke of when he first met Zola, just after Zola had been saved. Someone had told Zola that he was now a gentile since he had accepted the Messiah—Dr. McCall was the one who set him straight on that.

Todd Baker, one of Zola’s staff theologians and missionary to Israel, spoke about how he first met Zola after having listened to him on the radio for some time. He told the story of how he first met Zola, because of a radio show that was promoting replacement theology. Todd arranged for Zola to be on the show to give a rebuttal. Todd now runs Zola’s congregation.

Tony Derrick, a minister who runs Zola’s travel agency, spoke last. He had many great things to say about Zola but most importantly said that if anyone in the audience hadn’t got themselves right with God that they should do so right now. That was also Zola’s message. Tony then closed out the service.

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Zola said, when he found out that he had this disease, that he had lived the equivalent of four lives in the time that he’s had, he had done so many things. He always surprised me with a story about a job he once had doing something I had no idea he had ever done. So, though it seems like his life was cut short because of all we imagined he could have done in the future, it really wasn’t. Zola considered his life to have been very full.

And God, as always, is still in charge. He knows what is best for us and we will someday understand His decisions better than we do now. Zola had hoped to have lasted until the rapture. But it seems to me that since Zola taught about the rapture so much, it doesn’t really make sense that he should go as a passenger. I fully expect him to be one of the greeters on the other side and to give us a tour of our new home. And I think it’s quite possible that this will happen soon. Perhaps this next feast of Trumpets—or perhaps tomorrow.

Zola had been playing chess for many years, but he studied with an instructor (who I met at the memorial) to improve his game. He would often collaborate with his friend Lou (the editor of the Levitt Letter) over the phone on chess games they would play on the internet. He started playing golf several years ago and became pretty good. He played frequently and studied it on TV, but also had a golf instructor to help him improve his game. These things weren’t just hobbies as most of us would think of them. He didn’t just “do” them, he worked at them. He threw himself fully into them—as I guess he did with most things.

Anyway, that was Zola, and I miss him greatly. But he’s still around in photos and on TV and I still hear his voice in the recordings. Just no more phone calls. It’s still like a dream. A dream that I got to spend so much time with him and his family in the past few years and a dream that he’s now gone from us here. But someday we’ll wake up and be together again.

Greg Hartwig
Webmaster for levitt.com