Reverend Thomas L. Zeleny

REVEREND THOMAS L. ZELENY

Wilton

Reverend Thomas L. Zeleny, age 77, of Wilton, Iowa, passed away Thursday, August 5, 2021, at the Lutheran Home, Muscatine.

A visitation will be held from 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday, August 8, at Bentley Funeral Home, Wilton. A funeral service will be held at

10:30 a.m. Monday, August

9, at the Wilton United Methodist Church. A graveside service will be held at 2:30 p.m. following the funeral service in Pleasant Hill Cemetery, Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. Memorials may be given to the Wilton United Methodist Church or Compassus Hospice in his memory. Online condolences may be left at www.bentleyfuneralhome.com.

Tom was born on August 7, 1943, in Cheyenne, Wyoming, the son of Louis and Helen (Jones) Zeleny. He attended Sacred Heart High School and graduated with the Class of 1961. After high school, Tom proudly served his country in the U.S. Air Force from 1962-1966, including two years in Vietnam. Following the Air Force, Tom attended and graduated from Upper Iowa University. He then continued his education at St. Paul's Theology School, graduating in 1983. Tom married Connie Whittenbaugh on August 10, 1968, in Fayette, Iowa.

In his early years, Tom worked in sales, including department stores, automobiles and life insurance. He was a devout Christian and went into the ministry, where he served God as a United Methodist Pastor for 34 years before retiring in 2014. Tom served at many different locations, including Smith Chapel and Blackwater in Missouri, Lamoni, Decatur, Davis City, Mt. Union, Morning Sun, Wesley Chapel, LaPorte City, Wilton, High Prairie and Kingston, all in Iowa. Tom was a member of the American Legion in Wilton and the Lions Club, International. Tom was also a volunteer fireman and first responder for over twenty years. He enjoyed fishing, gardening, traveling and volunteering. Most of all, he cherished spending time with his family.

Tom will be dearly missed by his wife, Connie; two children, Amy (Tony) Salemi of McHenry, Illinois, and Chad (Krystal) Zeleny of Mt. Pleasant; five grandchildren, Joe and Chris Salemi, Derek Zeleny, Samantha (Ross Heitmeier) Zeleny and Reece Coffman; two sisters, Carolyn Kirn of Anaheim, California, and Rosemary Rundell of Manhattan, Kansas; and a special family friend, Missi (Roger) Bain of Mt. Pleasant.