Timothy P.O. Zenker ’69

Tim died Dec. 4, 2022, in The Dalles, Ore., of complications related to Parkinson’s disease, with which he had coped for nearly two decades. He died as he had lived, purposefully and courageously, and he was an inspiration to his family and his many Princeton friends.

Tim graduated from Chestnut Hill Academy in Philadelphia, then made the short trip (both geographically and culturally) to Princeton.  He ate at Charter; enjoyed intramurals, bridge, and poker; and was known for throwing a wicked slider with a Wiffle ball. He found history to be the most inclusive of disciplines, and majored in history and subsequently worked as assistant to the department chair for three years after graduation. 

For the next 50 years, Tim worked in college administration and at public and independent secondary schools. As an admission dean he traveled to all 50 states and five continents, meeting with students and parents to advise them about higher education. Changing course, he took a job teaching high school humanities courses in The Dalles. He will be remembered for permanently expanding the educational opportunities for students in that rural eastern Oregon community, where he established and ran an AP program for first-generation college-bound students.

Tim is survived by his spouse, Amy Marshall; children Fred, Maggie, and Charlie; and his sister, Penny, and her family.