Thomas Charles Zay, Sr., 85, died Monday January 8, 2018, at Archbold Hospital in Thomasville, Georgia. He was born December 2, 1932, in Cleveland, Ohio to Elizabeth Edna Rees Zehe and Ernst Charles Zehe. He grew up in Indianapolis and graduated from Shortridge High School in 1950. He attended Northwestern University, in Evanston, Illinois, on an ROTC scholarship, was a member of Phi Delta Theta fraternity, and graduated with a B.S. in Finance in 1954. Upon graduation he received his officer commission as a Second Lieutenant in the Marine Corps and was stationed in Pensacola, Florida, where he completed flight school. In 1956 Tom not only received his wings, becoming a Naval Aviator, but he also married Betty Ann (Johnson), a native of Pensacola. After moving to Marine Corps station El Toro, California for fighter jet training, he was honorably discharged from military service with the rank of Captain in 1957. He often recalled the challenges of landing F-5 and F-9 fighter jets on aircraft carriers.
Tom enjoyed an exceptional 50-year career in executive search consulting, advancing corporate executive leadership teams with Booz, Allen & Hamilton, Howard W. Voss & Associates, and Paul R. Ray and Company, where he served as Executive Vice President in Fort Worth and Atlanta from 1968 to 1982. He established Zay and Company International in Atlanta in 1982 and affiliated with Boyden International in 1994, where he served on the firm’s board of directors. He led searches for senior management level positions across a broad spectrum of industries. He was ranked nationally in the top 250 executive recruiters as well as in the top 10 executive recruiters working with aerospace, paper, publishing and printing, textiles, and higher education industries by John Sibbald in his Career Makers series, published by Harper Business.
An active and proud Atlantan, he was a member of the Atlanta Rotary Club, the Episcopal Cathedral of St. Philip, and the Capital City Club, where over many years he relished the camaraderie of the men’s exercise class. Devoted to his alma mater, he founded the Atlanta area Northwestern alumni club and was extensively involved in fundraising and other alumni activities, and he was an avid Northwestern Wildcats football fan. Tom served on the board of directors of Goodwill Industries, Atlanta, and most recently served as Chair of the board of governors of MAP International, a Christian organization headquartered in Brunswick, Georgia, that promotes community health development and disease prevention and provides medicines and health supplies to people in need around the globe. Throughout his life, Tom enjoyed boating, golfing, photography, music, singing in church and around the piano, and spending time on the beach at Sea Island and St. Simons Island, Georgia with his family.
Tom had a great intellect and a sharp, analytical mind. He could speak as passionately and perceptively about the complex languages of art and music as he could about the intricacies of the business world. He never really retired, remaining vibrant and actively engaged with family, friends, clients and associates even in his last days. He loved his work, which required a sincere interest in and keen insight into people. In all aspects of his life he loved cultivating relationships and connecting people with each other, no matter where he was or who he was talking to. This included his recent time in treatment at the Singletary Oncology Center, warmly connecting with everyone as usual, curious about where they were from, what their lives were like, and who they might know in common. As the youngest of 3 siblings whose brother, Rees Zay and sister, Katherine Zay Devlin, predeceased him, he was generous and caring to his many nieces and nephews who knew him fondly as “Big Tom.”
He is survived by his loving wife of 61 years, Betty; son Thomas Charles Zay, Jr., his wife Kathy and their sons Thomas Charles Zay, III and Michael Dennis Zay (Houston); son Timothy Laurence Zay, his wife Lynne and their children John Spencer Zay and Lillian Taylor Zay (Atlanta); daughter Julia Hadley Zay and partner Jenny James (Olympia, WA), as well as nieces, nephews, grand-nieces and grand-nephews.
A memorial service will be held at the Cathedral of Saint Philip in Atlanta on February 9, 2018 at 11:00 am. https://www.stphilipscathedral.org/
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to MAP International or the Cancer Research Foundation.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Thomas Charles Zay Sr., please visit our flower store.
Tom enjoyed an exceptional 50-year career in executive search consulting, advancing corporate executive leadership teams with Booz, Allen & Hamilton, Howard W. Voss & Associates, and Paul R. Ray and Company, where he served as Executive Vice President in Fort Worth and Atlanta from 1968 to 1982. He established Zay and Company International in Atlanta in 1982 and affiliated with Boyden International in 1994, where he served on the firm’s board of directors. He led searches for senior management level positions across a broad spectrum of industries. He was ranked nationally in the top 250 executive recruiters as well as in the top 10 executive recruiters working with aerospace, paper, publishing and printing, textiles, and higher education industries by John Sibbald in his Career Makers series, published by Harper Business.
An active and proud Atlantan, he was a member of the Atlanta Rotary Club, the Episcopal Cathedral of St. Philip, and the Capital City Club, where over many years he relished the camaraderie of the men’s exercise class. Devoted to his alma mater, he founded the Atlanta area Northwestern alumni club and was extensively involved in fundraising and other alumni activities, and he was an avid Northwestern Wildcats football fan. Tom served on the board of directors of Goodwill Industries, Atlanta, and most recently served as Chair of the board of governors of MAP International, a Christian organization headquartered in Brunswick, Georgia, that promotes community health development and disease prevention and provides medicines and health supplies to people in need around the globe. Throughout his life, Tom enjoyed boating, golfing, photography, music, singing in church and around the piano, and spending time on the beach at Sea Island and St. Simons Island, Georgia with his family.
Tom had a great intellect and a sharp, analytical mind. He could speak as passionately and perceptively about the complex languages of art and music as he could about the intricacies of the business world. He never really retired, remaining vibrant and actively engaged with family, friends, clients and associates even in his last days. He loved his work, which required a sincere interest in and keen insight into people. In all aspects of his life he loved cultivating relationships and connecting people with each other, no matter where he was or who he was talking to. This included his recent time in treatment at the Singletary Oncology Center, warmly connecting with everyone as usual, curious about where they were from, what their lives were like, and who they might know in common. As the youngest of 3 siblings whose brother, Rees Zay and sister, Katherine Zay Devlin, predeceased him, he was generous and caring to his many nieces and nephews who knew him fondly as “Big Tom.”
He is survived by his loving wife of 61 years, Betty; son Thomas Charles Zay, Jr., his wife Kathy and their sons Thomas Charles Zay, III and Michael Dennis Zay (Houston); son Timothy Laurence Zay, his wife Lynne and their children John Spencer Zay and Lillian Taylor Zay (Atlanta); daughter Julia Hadley Zay and partner Jenny James (Olympia, WA), as well as nieces, nephews, grand-nieces and grand-nephews.
A memorial service will be held at the Cathedral of Saint Philip in Atlanta on February 9, 2018 at 11:00 am. https://www.stphilipscathedral.org/
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to MAP International or the Cancer Research Foundation.
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