The Life of Dr. Paul Richard Zehnder Jr.
Funeral services will be held on Monday, November 30, 2015 at a 12 Noon Mass of Christian Burial at St. Pius X Catholic Church for Paul Richard Zehnder, Jr., MD, who passed away on Wednesday, November 25, 2015 at his home. Celebrants will be Father Steve LeBlanc and Msgr. Douglas Courville, JCL.
He is survived by his loving wife and best friend of 53 years, Martha DeRouen Zehnder; his sons and their wives Paul III and Michelle (Fadaol) of Lafayette, Jeff and Ansley (Baker) of Baton Rouge; his three grandchildren Katherine, Camille and William; his brother, James Louis Zehnder, M.D., and his wife Rosemary of Lafayette; his sister, Kaylee and her husband Andrew Benoit of Houston; and his nieces and nephews also survive him.
His father and mother, Paul Richard Zehnder, Sr. and Catherine Watson Zehnder, preceded him in death.
Dr. Zehnder was born in San Francisco, California on January 1, 1938. He moved with his family to Great Falls, Montana and subsequently joined the seminary, Holy Redeemer, in Oakland, California, where he spent six years as a student. He then rejoined his family, who had relocated to Lake Charles, Louisiana. Thereafter, Dr. Zehnder lived the rest of his life as a resident of Louisiana.
Following completion of his undergraduate studies at McNeese University in Lake Charles, he attended Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine in New Orleans, where he was privileged to serve as the student body president from 1963 to 1964.
Upon graduation from medical school, he enlisted as a Captain in the United States Air Force. Following an internship at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas and a subsequent residency in Aerospace Technology, he was assigned as one of two original flight surgeons on the SR-71 “Blackbird” spy plane at Beale Air Force Base in Marysville, California.
Subsequently, he served overseas as a Dispensary Commander of Mactan Air Force Base in the Philippines Islands, transporting supplies and service members into Vietnam as a flight surgeon.
He returned to New Orleans and performed a residency in Ear, Nose and Throat at Charity Hospital and was board certified in Otolaryngology and inducted as a Fellow into the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery in 1972.
Dr. Zehnder was a member of most local and state medical societies, and served in a variety of board positions at local hospitals, including ten years on the membership committee at Lafayette General Medical Center.
After completing 25 years as a local ENT physician, he went on at age 67 to earn board certification in hospice and palliative care. Since 2001, he served as a volunteer physician for Hospice of Acadiana, through which he derived the greatest joy and professional gratification of his distinguished career.
He also enjoyed playing tennis, fishing, hunting with his friends, cooking and tending his garden with his wife.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorials in Paul’s memory be directed to Hospice of Acadiana, 2600 Johnston Street, Suite 200, Lafayette, LA 70503.
Pallbearers will be, C.J. Bonnecarrere, James Fambrough, C. William Rogers, James Louis Zehnder, Jr., William Todd Zehnder, Dr. Scott Benoit and Honorary Pallbearer William Paul Zehnder.
Friends will be received at Martin & Castille Funeral Home on St. Landry (DOWNTOWN) on Sunday from 4:00 PM until 7:00 PM and will resume on Monday at 10:00 AM until 11:30 AM.
A Rosary service will be held on Sunday at 6:00 PM, led by Deacon James Davis.
Dr. Zehnder’s family extends special thanks to Dr. Shirley Covington, Holly Van Beek, Joeann Harrington, Lisa Caffery, Deacon Jim Davis and the staff of Hospice of Acadiana for their compassionate care and friendship.
Martin & Castille-DOWNTOWN-330 St. Landry St., Lafayette, LA 70506, 337-234-2311
He is survived by his loving wife and best friend of 53 years, Martha DeRouen Zehnder; his sons and their wives Paul III and Michelle (Fadaol) of Lafayette, Jeff and Ansley (Baker) of Baton Rouge; his three grandchildren Katherine, Camille and William; his brother, James Louis Zehnder, M.D., and his wife Rosemary of Lafayette; his sister, Kaylee and her husband Andrew Benoit of Houston; and his nieces and nephews also survive him.
His father and mother, Paul Richard Zehnder, Sr. and Catherine Watson Zehnder, preceded him in death.
Dr. Zehnder was born in San Francisco, California on January 1, 1938. He moved with his family to Great Falls, Montana and subsequently joined the seminary, Holy Redeemer, in Oakland, California, where he spent six years as a student. He then rejoined his family, who had relocated to Lake Charles, Louisiana. Thereafter, Dr. Zehnder lived the rest of his life as a resident of Louisiana.
Following completion of his undergraduate studies at McNeese University in Lake Charles, he attended Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine in New Orleans, where he was privileged to serve as the student body president from 1963 to 1964.
Upon graduation from medical school, he enlisted as a Captain in the United States Air Force. Following an internship at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas and a subsequent residency in Aerospace Technology, he was assigned as one of two original flight surgeons on the SR-71 “Blackbird” spy plane at Beale Air Force Base in Marysville, California.
Subsequently, he served overseas as a Dispensary Commander of Mactan Air Force Base in the Philippines Islands, transporting supplies and service members into Vietnam as a flight surgeon.
He returned to New Orleans and performed a residency in Ear, Nose and Throat at Charity Hospital and was board certified in Otolaryngology and inducted as a Fellow into the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery in 1972.
Dr. Zehnder was a member of most local and state medical societies, and served in a variety of board positions at local hospitals, including ten years on the membership committee at Lafayette General Medical Center.
After completing 25 years as a local ENT physician, he went on at age 67 to earn board certification in hospice and palliative care. Since 2001, he served as a volunteer physician for Hospice of Acadiana, through which he derived the greatest joy and professional gratification of his distinguished career.
He also enjoyed playing tennis, fishing, hunting with his friends, cooking and tending his garden with his wife.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorials in Paul’s memory be directed to Hospice of Acadiana, 2600 Johnston Street, Suite 200, Lafayette, LA 70503.
Pallbearers will be, C.J. Bonnecarrere, James Fambrough, C. William Rogers, James Louis Zehnder, Jr., William Todd Zehnder, Dr. Scott Benoit and Honorary Pallbearer William Paul Zehnder.
Friends will be received at Martin & Castille Funeral Home on St. Landry (DOWNTOWN) on Sunday from 4:00 PM until 7:00 PM and will resume on Monday at 10:00 AM until 11:30 AM.
A Rosary service will be held on Sunday at 6:00 PM, led by Deacon James Davis.
Dr. Zehnder’s family extends special thanks to Dr. Shirley Covington, Holly Van Beek, Joeann Harrington, Lisa Caffery, Deacon Jim Davis and the staff of Hospice of Acadiana for their compassionate care and friendship.
Martin & Castille-DOWNTOWN-330 St. Landry St., Lafayette, LA 70506, 337-234-2311
