- Date Of Birth: May 15, 1922
- Date Of Death: May 22, 2017
- State: Michigan
John G. Polzin was born May 15, 1922 in Chicago, IL to John B. And Audrie (Goulding) Polzin and died May 22, 2017 at Friendship Village of Kalamazoo.
In that allotted space of time, he lived a long life marked by good health and a world of experiences. When he was an infant the family moved to Kalamazoo where he was educated in the Kalamazoo Public Schools , participating in many of the schools’ extra-curricular activities and graduating from Kalamazoo Central High School in 1940.His college years were interrupted by World War II when he spent 3 years in the U.S. Army, the majority of which were spent in Europe in the Ordnance Division of General Patton’s Third Army.
Returning to Kalamazoo, he graduated from Kalamazoo College and then launched National Flavor Products Co. with his father. His interest in the company never flagged until after many years of successful growth he retired at age 85. Fortune again favored him during those years with his long and happy marriage to Kathryn (Kay) Stimson who for 60 years shared his life with her love and support in all the joys of their activities together. Especially active in Freemasonry, Polzin was an officer or member of several masonic organizations and received a number of honors and recognitions including the 33rd degree as well as holding office as Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Michigan and the chairmanship of the Grand Masters Conference of North America.
As an elder of the Presbyterian Church, he served the churches in both Kalamazoo and Richland. A believer in lifetime learning, he was an avid reader and participant in college level course lectures on a variety of subjects. In the community he again found opportunities for leadership with the Kalamazoo Rotary Club, Bronson Hospital Foundation, Y.M.C.A., Easter Seal Society, Gull Lake Country Club, the Kalamazoo Civic Theatre and the Salvation Army Advisory Board.
In their years together he and Kay were active in many pursuits and travels and held dear memories of sailing on Gull Lake and racing regattas on Lake Erie and Devil’s Lake; golfing and fun in Jamaica and Arizona; weekends skiing at Caberfae; white rafting on the Colorado River; the amazingly lush Amazon jungle; dawn on the mountains tops of the Andes at Machu Picchu in Peru; the Passion Play at Oberammergau; the Follies Bergere in Paris; the immensity of the Iguasu Falls in Brazil; the Vienna Symphony Orchestra under the stars in Athens and the Blue Mosque in Istanbul not to speak of their five happy poodles all named Cyrano. Above all were their family holiday gatherings and so many, many friends long-gone but not forgotten, that were part of their life and times.
He is survived by his beloved wife, Kay. He is also survived by three much loved nieces, Mary (Mrs. Michael) Gray; Suzanne Leech; Anne (Mrs. Robert) Davis; and a nephew, John F. Stimson and their families in whom he took great pride.
