Richard Chester Zellner, 64, of 130 State Street, North Haven, passed away Tuesday, April 3, 2012 at the Hospital of St. Raphael. He was the husband of Nancy J. Wiggins Zellner. Born in Harrisburg, PA on August 19, 1947; son of the late Chester and Eleanor Kohler Zellner. Richard was a resident of Milford for many years until moving to North Haven in 2005; he served his country faithfully in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam war; he attended Paier School of Arts & Photography for three years and had worked as a Chief Aviation Photographer for Sikorsky Aircraft for 32 years until his retirement in 2007. Richard was a member of the Masons; the Golden Wings Sikorsky Retirement Club; the American Legion and the Nikonians Professional Photographers Association. Richard was a world recognized aviation photographer; had dozens of cover photographs in international and domestic aviation publications. He won Aviation Week and Space Technologies Magazines first ever photo contest as “Best-of-the-Best” and several of the contests in the subsequent years. Richard accomplished everything he set out to do in life! Father of Travis Richard Zellner and his wife Pamela of Uxbridge, MA and Scott Richard Zellner and his wife Julie of Wallingford. Grandfather of Miia Eleanor Zellner, James Johnson Zellner, Richard Joseph Zellner, Joseph Austin Zellner and Sarah Ann Zellner.
Family and friends may call at the North Haven Funeral Home, 36 Washington Avenue, Friday morning from 9:00 to 11:00. Military honors and a Remembrance of Richard’s Life will be conducted at 11:00 AM. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, 733 Third Ave., 3rd Floor, N.Y., N.Y. 10017. Interment will be private and at the convenience of the family.