Olan Albert Zigler, age 95, of Bryan, Ohio, and Sarasota, Florida, passed away on Monday evening, Jan. 10, 2022, at the Sarasota Memorial Hospital.
He is survived by his second wife, Ora Jean Rouser Zigler (m. Feb. 8, 2005); his older sister, Margaret Rigelman; half brother, Clarence Whirledge; his sons, Richard (Tina), Ted (Beth) and Bruce (Peg Siler); his stepdaughter, Patti Stanley (Dave Berry); his grandchildren, David (Teresa), Scott (Melissa) and Amy (Steve Landis); and several great-grandchildren, nephews and nieces.
Olan was born in Bryan, Ohio, on Sept. 18, 1926, to Glen and Nora (Billow) Zigler. He was later raised by Carmen and Thelma Kuster of Camden, Michigan, where he graduated from high school in 1944.
He enlisted in the Navy at 17 and served in WWII in the Pacific theater as motor machinist’s mate second class on the USS LSM-353 until 1946. Returning to Bryan after the war, Olan met Patsy Lovetinsky (1931-2003). They were married on Nov. 8, 1948, and had three sons.
He bought a farm in Stryker, Ohio, and started raising ponies and later Ponies of the Americas (POAs).
He was an active member of Pony of the Americas Club, eventually becoming national president and inducted into the POAC Hall of Fame in 1993.
He also worked at Bryan Municipal Utilities Power Plant. In 1978 they moved back to Bryan and continued raising POAs. He retired from the city in 1987.
Olan and Patsy began wintering in Sarasota that year, at Windward Isle Homeowners Park, where he participated in many activities.
Throughout the years, he was also an avid Ohio State football fan and Indiana University basketball fan.
Olan was a member of the Lick Creek Church of the Brethren in Bryan, Ohio, and attended services at a Methodist Church in Sarasota, Florida.
He was preceded in death by Patsy Zigler; Carmen Kuster; his parents, Glen and Nora Zigler; brothers, Roy, George, Dale and Glen Jr.; sisters, Frances Siebenaler, Anna Green, Kate Jenkins and Martha Luke; half sister, Irene Messenger; and stepson, Thomas G. Rouser.
Graveside service will be held for the family at the Fountain Grove Cemetery in Bryan, Ohio on Feb. 9, 2022, at 10:30 a.m., followed by a memorial service and lunch at 11 a.m. at the Lick Creek Church of the Brethren, 1500 Center St., Bryan, Ohio.
Contributions in memory of Olan Zigler may be made to the Lick Creek Church of the Brethren.