Richard Zingre

Richard Blake Zingre, 96, of Brevard, whom most of us know as "Dick", "Mr. Jingles" or the "Chief", passed away on Tuesday, August 23, 2016 at The Oaks of Brevard. A native of Kirkwood, Missouri, he was the son of the late Henry and Marion Steuber Zingre. In addition to his parents he was also preceded in death by his beloved wife of 36 years, Muriel Jeanette Zingre. He and Muriel were married late in life and enjoyed traveling in their camper to Florida and all over the US. After traveling on vacation for years, they finally retired to Transylvania County in 1985.
Dick always had so many stories from his childhood and his family. He grew up in St. Louis County, Missouri and loved going to his parents' farm in Ellisville. Dick talked a lot about his pony and pet pig, Luigi.
A US Navy Veteran, Dick enlisted at the age of 18 and served as the Chief Radio Officer aboard the U.S.S Richmond during World War II and saw action in the Pacific Theatre during the war in battles of the Komandorski Islands, Attu and Kiska Island as well as others. As a member of the American Legion he has enjoyed spending time with other veterans.
A graduate of Washington University in St. Louis with his degree in engineering, he worked both with Western Union and also Lockheed Martin as an engineer while also finding time to study drawing and painting at New York University and the Brooklyn and Newark Museums. He had been interested in art most of his life, but when he retired, he devoted himself to painting in oils using conventional methods and a basic palette. He joined the Transylvania Art Guild where he began painting regularly with the artists of the guild and sold many of his paintings of the landscapes and scenes around Brevard. You could always find him on the Courthouse Lawn Show selling his paintings on Saturday mornings. He was an inspiration to us all. Even in these last five years of his life, he amazed us with his sketches of people in the dining hall and dabbling in watercolors with the art class.
A Memorial Service for Richard Zingre will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, September 23, 2016 at Cornerstone Presbyterian Church in Brevard with Rev. Andy Silman officiating. Military funeral rites will be performed by the United States Navy Reserves and the Transylvania county Honor Guard.
He was very appreciative off all his personal caregivers and the staff of College Walk and The Oaks of Brevard during these last years of his life.