Sylvester Paul Zarlingo, 90, of Granite City, Illinois, formerly of Venice, Illinois, passed away on Tuesday, December 31, 2024, in St. Louis, Missouri. He was born on December 19, 1934, in Center Ridge, Arkansas, of second-generation parents from Castelverrino, Italy and Stuttgart, Germany.
Mr. Zarlingo was a member of Holy Family Catholic Church in Granite City. He graduated from St. Mark Catholic Grade School and was Valedictorian of his Venice High School graduation class.
While working full time at Dow Chemical in Madison, IL, he earned a BS in Physics at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, graduating in 1966 with High Honors. He subsequently earned his MBA at the same university. Ten years later, Southern Illinois University’s School of Science and Engineering presented him their Distinguished Alumnus Award.
He began his work at Dow as a Lab Technician, was promoted to Tool and Die Design Engineer and ended there after 18 years as Superintendent of Production Services in the Extrusion Plant. He completed a second career of 22 years at Olin Brass, East Alton, IL, where he was a Marketing Engineer, Manager of Marketing Engineering, and Manager of New Product Development. He “retired” from Olin and initiated a consulting business, and a widely read technical publication, both known as Z-Connection.
Mr. Zarlingo (also known as S. Paul Zarlingo) was well known throughout the country and in Europe for his expertise in metals used for interconnection. He was a long-standing member of the International Institute of Connector & Interconnection Technology, Inc. (IICIT). He was Technical Vice President of the International Electronic Packaging Society (IEPS). Mr. Zarlingo was a prolific writer, authoring thirty technical papers for presentations at national symposia, for national journals, and for seminars. He traveled throughout the U.S. and Europe, presenting seminars that enabled engineers and purchasers to make optimum selections of materials for their products.
He taught Business at SWIC, the local Jr. College. He was a member of the Board of Directors for Introspective, Inc.
Mr. Zarlingo was a competitive runner in 10k races and completed four marathons. He ran over 25,000 miles in his lifetime (2,000 miles one year). After Suffering a leg-injury he became a recreational biker and logged 20,000 miles on the bike trails.
These accomplishments will fade into history. They were merely a stage to develop love between himself, wife, and children – which will never die.
He married the former Kathleen C. Voegele on June 27, 1953, at St. Mark Catholic Church. She preceded him in death on December 24, 2008. Also preceding him in death are his parents, Paul J. and Emma E. (Miller) Zarlingo; his son, Tim Zarlingo; his two sisters, Marie Dixon and Florence Durer; and his brother, Albert “Al” Zarlingo.
Surviving are his five children, Tom Zarling, Connie Koenig, Cathy (Steve) Marceau, Tony Zarlingo, and Terry Zarlingo; his five grandchildren, Jason Koenig, Joshua Koenig, John Marceau, Paul Zarlingo III, and Alicia (Joey) Parent; his great granddaughter, Rose Parent; his 13 nieces and nephews; and other extended family and friends.
Memorials may be made in the form of Masses. Condolences may also be expressed online at www.irwinchapel.com.
Funeral: A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11 a.m., Wednesday, January 8, 2025, at Holy Family Catholic Church, 2606 Washington Ave., Granite City, Illinois with Father Stephen Thompson officiating. Interment will follow in Calvary Catholic Cemetery in Edwardsville, Illinois.
