Jack “Zab” Zaborac, the longtime owner and operator of Kent Bowl and a racehorse owner at Emerald Downs, died on Saturday at the age of 90.
A memorial service to celebrate Zab’s life is set for 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 15, at Kent Bowl, 1234 Central Ave. N. Zab’s family asks that in lieu of flowers and donations, people simply take their family out and bowl together. And in honor of his wish to see families play together, Kent Bowl will offer free bowling all day on Thanksgiving Day.
Zab took over as manager at Kent Bowl in 1962, just four years after the business opened.
“I came here as a $600-a-month manager in 1962,” Zab said in an interview with the Kent Reporter in 2012. “I had a good job at Boeing, but they had transferred me into a job where I didn’t have much to do. I found plenty to do here.”
Zab stepped aside a bit a few years ago from the bowling center, turning the alley over to his son Dennis Zaborac. But he kept close contact with the business.
“I don’t think I will ever retire unless the good Lord takes me first,” Zab said a few years ago about his plans.
Zab passed away peacefully, according to his obituary posted by Edline-Yahn & Covington Funeral Chapel. He was preceded in death by his wife Vivian Zaborac, who died in 2000 from cancer, and his daughter Janice Tegtmeyer. Survivors include his children Monica, Larry, Sharon, Dennis, Matthew and Shane; seven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
He was born Sept. 14, 1925 in St. David, Ill. He dropped out of high school at age 17, lied about his age, and enlisted in the U.S. Navy. He served as a gunners mate on merchant and troop ships in the Pacific during World War II. He settled in Seattle after the war and sold vacuum cleaners, newspapers, Watkin’s products and worked at Bethlehem Steel before landing a job at Boeing. After 17 years at Boeing, Zab gave it all up and moved to Kent to take on the position of Kent Bowl manager.
Bowling dominated his life for the next 53 years. He made Kent Bowl a family oriented landmark and turned down numerous offers to sell the place for other commercial ventures, according to his obituary. Even at the time of his death, he was actively upgrading his establishment.
Zac said during his 2012 interview that he knows his family business will continue for future generations to enjoy and that he planned to stick around for as long as he can.
“I’ve had a good life here,” he said.
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