GREENWOOD
Louis “Lou” Edward Zickler, the consummate, soft-spoken gentleman, was a leader in the real estate profession, local and state politics and above all else, a devoted husband, father, and grandfather. He passed away peacefully at St. Francis Hospital on February 22, 2022, at the age of 76.
Born in Indianapolis, IN, he was the son of Ed and Lucy Zickler. He attended Indiana University from 1963-1968 where he graduated from the Kelley School of Business and was a member of Lambda Chi Alpha.
Lou married Linda 53 years ago and rarely spent a day apart. Together, they raised their two sons, Ryan and Jason, with love, humor and a focus on making an impact in this life.
Lou spent countless hours attending his sons’ sporting events, teaching them to fish from his janky Scanoe, sharing his love of music, food, travel and showing them how to be polite, professional, well spoken, good listeners and gracious under pressure as future businessmen and fathers.
As an Indian Guide leader, Lou, named “Captain Big Fire,” taught his sons, Ryan and Jason (aka “Grey Hawk” and “Little Blazing Fire,” respectively), how to read a compass, make a fire, grill steaks and understand the meaning of an Indian headdress. Despite being a busy business man, Lou put family first.
Lou attended every business meeting and family event meticulously dressed with a fresh note pad in hand and various newspaper clippings to share on a variety of topics of interest to him and, hopefully, others. When greeting or parting friends, he never missed an opportunity to give a warm hug or shake hands – sometimes even using the phrase, “pals forever.”
Lou was blessed with six, extraordinarily talented grandchildren all of whom brightened his world. Just like his sons, Granddad Lou focused much of his time attending their sports events, clipped even more newspaper articles, and attempted to teach them, from the age of six, how to calculate their gas mileage, read a rain gauge and properly use cloth napkins. The results were mixed, but he remained hopeful.
The love of his life: Lou and his “lovely bride,” Linda, enjoyed entertaining at their Greenwood home of over 40 years, listening to their vinyl record collection and reliving his days as the guitarist and vocalist in his band, the “Mysfits.” Linda was, and remained, his groupie while brother-in-law, “Butch,” was his band’s manager.
Lou was active in REALTOR? organizations at the local, state, and national levels. He was past president of both the Indiana Association of REALTORS? and the Metropolitan Indianapolis Board of REALTORS?. He was honored as REALTOR? of the Year by the Metropolitan Indianapolis Board of REALTORS? in 1993, the Indiana Commercial Board of REALTORS? in 2001, and by the Indiana Association of REALTORS? in 2002. Lou was a charter member of the Indiana Commercial Board of REALTORS? and served on the board of directors from 1999 through 2001. His civic and community activities have included leadership positions in numerous economic development organizations serving Central Indiana. He was awarded the CRE professional designation by the Counselors of Real Estate in 1991 and he co-founded the Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS) as Member #3.
Lou was a member of St. Francis and Clare of Assisi. He is survived by his loving wife, Linda (Park) Zickler, his two sons, Ryan Zickler (Julie) and Jason Zickler (Karen). He is lovingly remembered by his sister, Carolyn Gabel (Robert), his brother-in-law Charles Park (Marcia), along with his grandchildren Nik, Lucy, Anna, Park, Charlie, and Hayes.
The viewing will be held from 3:00 pm-6:00 pm on Sunday, February 27th, at Wilson St. Pierre Funeral Service &Crematory, 481 West Main Street, Greenwood, IN. The funeral will be held on Monday, February 28th at 11:00 am at Saints Francis and Clare of Assisi, 5901 Olive Branch Road, Greenwood, IN with an additional visitation beginning at 10:00 am. Interment will immediately follow the service at Greenwood Cemetery, 620 West Main Street, Greenwood, IN.
The Zickler Family wants to express its sincere appreciation to the amazing and compassionate superstars who cared for Lou in the St. Francis Adult ICU including Tara M, Kylie, Steve, Chris, Amy, Dr. Gerald Braverman, and Dr. Sarfraz Ahmad. Each of you are true heroes.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Indiana Parkinson Foundation, 14350 Mundy Dr., Suite 800 #181, Noblesville, 46060 or http://www.indianaparkinson.org. The Michael J. Fox Foundation, P.O. Box 5012, Haggertown, MD 21741-5014 or www.michaeljfox.org/donate.
