Michael Edward Zach
August 11, 1949 – December 18, 2018
Michael Edward Zach was called home to be with his Lord on December 18, 2018.
Mike was born on August 11, 1949 in Omaha, Nebraska and spent his childhood in Fremont, Nebraska. He met Cheryl (Rowe) when his family moved to Omaha during his senior year, and he graduated from Benson High School in 1967. They dated throughout their college years at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. He graduated with a Business Administration degree, and he and Cheryl married in 1971. After selling insurance for many years, he served in full-time Christian ministry.
Over their 47 years of marriage, Mike and Cheryl were privileged to pass a legacy of steadfast faith to their six children and ten grandchildren. Mike’s faith was steeped in the Scriptures and in his relationship with Jesus Christ. His shepherd’s heart was filled with love and empathy, and his desire was to always be a blessing, to share God’s love, and to impart words of encouragement to everyone he came in contact with. Whether providing counseling, delighting children (and adults) with his magic shows, or opening his home with generous hospitality, Mike took every opportunity to share his faith with others.
Mike is survived by his wife, Cheryl; daughter, Barbara and her husband Damon and their son Sebastian of Karlsruhe, Germany; son Daniel and his wife Anna and their son Noah of Lincoln; son David and his wife Anna and their children Jack, Ava and Stella of Nashville; son Philip and his wife Kate and their daughter Wesley of Lincoln; son Paul and his wife Lindsay and their children Gabriella, Alex, Zephaniah and King of Charlottesville; and daughter Elizabeth of Austin. He is also survived by his father, Edward, ten siblings and their spouses, 43 nieces and nephews, and 28 grandnieces and grandnephews. He was preceded in death by his mother, Beatrice Elaine Zach.
CELEBRATION OF LIFE will be held on Friday, Dec. 21st at 10am at the West Center Chapel, 7805 W. Center Rd., Omaha. The family will be available for visitation at the same location on Thursday, December 20th from 6:00p.m. to 8:00 p.m., with an opportunity at 7:00 p.m. to gather and share memories.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to The Exodus Road (theexodusroad.com).
Funeral Service will be webcast and can be viewed live beginning at 9:30 am. Past this address to your browser to view: https://boxcast.tv/view/michael-zach-159795
54 Comments
Your father was remembered by me today as an important adult in my life. Being used by God to grow and mature my faith. I am praying for all the Zachs at this tough time. God Bless.
Send our prayers and our sympathies to the family Mike was very helpful to us when we went to Omaha to meet with him on some personal business Prayers forever for Mike
Our church family came to love Mike and Cheryl. Mike was a man who loved the Lord and wanted to live in fellowship with Him. I appreciated His heart for prayer, for the Word and for sharing Jesus with others.
I am so sorry to hear of your loss. The Zach family helped lead me to a relationship with the Lord that has profoundly blessed my life. We rejoice Mike is with the Lord and grieve with you during your time of loss.
Our condolences ?? May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace. 2Corinthians 1:2
Your entire family is in our thoughts and prayers.
Very blessed to have known him. Condolences to his family.
I have many fond memories of Magic Mike. I regret never reaching out in recent years but I trust he knows now as he is immersed in peace and love with his Heavenly Father. Sending prayers and so much love to your family.
I was shocked to learn today that Mike has been called home. I am sad, and I am happy for him at the same time. My deepest sympathies are with all of the Zach family. I remember Magic Mike and the show we put on down on Sparks Street on Canada day several years back. Mike will not soon be forgotten by me. Cheryl, I am praying for your loss. May the Lord Jesus comfort you at this time.
He was a great guy and man of God. We remember him w fondness. May The Lord comfort your hearts!
All our love to the Zach Family. I am a better, richer person because I knew Mike. My children would always say that he made everyone feel his friendship, and he shared his real faith with simplicity and care. Such a humble, fun, faithful man.
I loved your shepherd’s heart almost from the first day I met you, Mike, and I will never forget you. See you later, brother!
Barbara, Daniel, David, Philip, Paul and Elizabeth, The love your father showered on you, and the pride he held in his heart for you all – his beautiful children .. it could be felt for miles. I am grieving for your loss of your terrific, wonderful dad.
I feel fortunate to have been a recipient of your dad’s care, and the generosity of his time during pivotal years of my young adulthood. I can most certainly say with hundreds of your peers, thank you for sharing your dad with the world. I love you guys.
Cheryl, Witnessing you and Mike and the energy you shared together, for God and all people, was a sweet and beautiful gift. Your love for each other grew love in others.
I pray for unrelenting comfort to be at your door, now and forever.
Much love to you all, Hannah Casimiro
I saw Mike a number of times at a prayer group I attend on Wednesday nights. I sat at the same table as Mike and Cheryl at the lunch held after the Community Bible Church Thanksgiving service at Raltson High School the Sunday before Thanksgiving Day in 2017. I also saw Mike at the Community Bible Church service at Sumtur Amphitheater in Papillion the Sunday before Labor Day this year. I really enjoyed the video of Mike and Cheryl sharing testimonies of thanksgiving at the Community Bible Church Thanksgiving service this year.
We are so thankful to have known Mike. He truly loved his Savior and others and will be missed. Praying for you Cheryl and all your family at this difficult time..
David and family, so sorry for your loss. He certainly raised some amazing children who have influenced and continue to influence many across the world.
I’m so sorry to hear about Mike. To Cheryl and family, you are in my thoughts and prayers. Mike welcomed me into his home, and in a time in my life when I needed a father figure, he was it. I still have the Bible he gave me. My heart is heavy.
Mike Zach was a vibrant and joyous man with an infectious zest for life. He was an inspiration to me as a young man to live life with passion and conviction. His love for his family.was evident and his commitment to Faith was unwaivering. I remember him singing “When we all get to Heaven what a day of rejoicing that will be.” We shall meet again MIke
The Lord embraced a godly man today. Our condolences to all the Zach family and friends. We were blessed to have known Mike. Praying for you Cheryl and family ???
Our condolences to all the Zach family and friends. Blessed to have known Mike, and praying for you Cheryl and all the Zach family. ???
What an amazing man of God. I thank the lord for putting him in my life at a young age and impact Mike has had on it. I pray that I could have a stead fast faith a walk like Mike. My deepest sympathies for all of the Zach family. One day we will all reunite in glory. Much love.
My deepest condolences to Elizabeth and the Zach family, I did not meet your father but I know he shines through you and for that blessing I thank him. Losing a parent, a husband, a cornerstone of your family is an extreme loss, in the days to come take all your tears as love from him, take all your heartbreak as a gift of the love you enjoyed for him and know that he is not far. All of my love and peaceful thoughts to all at this time, Texas is with you.
This has been such a hard loss. This was Mike. No ordinary man. He will be remembered for so many things. The most important things were his selflessness and for bringing people to the Lord, but the list goes one. He will always be remembered. D.L. Moody said “Some day you will read in the newspaper that I have died. Don’t believe it, for I am more alive than I have ever been”. Love to the family, meri
This has been such a hard loss. This was Mike. No ordinary man. He will be remembered for so many things. The most important things were his selflessness and for bringing people to the Lord, but the list goes one. He will always be remembered. D.L. Moody said “Some day you will read in the newspaper that I have died. Don’t believe it, for I am more alive than I have ever been”.
I took my son to the clinc yesterday, and he turned to me and showed me this obituary. I was moved dramatically with thoughts of his family, his “magic shows,” and memories of his messages regarding Christ. In short, the blessing his family, and especially the blessing he was to my family and the world. I wish we could be at his memorial, but I am going to trust that we will be there in spirit. He was a “voice in the wilderness” of the American Great Plains. Cheryl, our thoughts and prayers are with you also. May God give you peace in your soul at this time. The Strangman family.
Knowing Mike since being a teenager, he became my Brother in law before I graduated from high school. I am convinced that if Mike and Cheryl had not witnessed to me about Jesus ultimate sacrifice, my destiny would have veered away from truth. Since Mike gave me my first Bible, I have never stopped studying it over 45 years. The Word is my life and my treasure, and I can thank Mike and Cheryl for their unconditional love and support.
We will all remember him as a good husband, a loving Father and Grandfather, a fine son and a reliable brother, a preacher and comedian, magician, and a builder.
I send to all who loved Mike my prayers, but moreover, the reminder that we will see him again when we reunite in God’s glorious kingdom. May the Holy Spirit give all a fresh infusion of His love and hope at this time. Amen.
Cheryl, we were just beginning to know you and Mike and even in that short time, we were blessed. Even in his pain, he always put sharing Jesus first. We will be praying for all of you!
I’m sorry to hear about brother Mike Zach, who to me was an example of a serious man who desired to please God and who helped lead his family and others to follow the Lord. I was a beneficiary of his devoted example, generosity, hospitality, humor, and I appreciate perhaps most of all the family legacy which he cultivated. May the enter Zach family know the presence of the great Comforter and continue to know His blessing on their lives.
My deepest condolences to Cheryl and family,both of you sewed many seeds into my heart \ and soul .Im deeply saddened with the passing of Mike to his father house. What a profound loss for this `worlds souls in need of a man that led everyone toward the lord.
Brother Mike was an incredible man of God. An inspiration, mentor and example in my formidable years. He invested in people. He loved people and he loved his family. Grieving with all of you as he joined the heavenly realm. He will be dearly missed but precious, cherished memories with him are a balm for the soul. I love you all.
I write with many fond memories of Mike at Grandpa & Grandma Zach’s farm. His magic shows the swing rope in the hayloft and evening prayer outside in the coolness of the evening air. Mike was always a leader. May you all be comforted by the knowledge that he is in the care of his Savior and that the bonds of affection have not severed but changed and live with confident expectation that we will all someday be united again!
God bless,
Al Zach
How can Diana and I express our gratitude for the spiritual service our dear brother Mike provided for us over the years? In godly wisdom Mike gave us counsel and encouragement. We were honored to consider him our friend. Now we are sure that he, having heard the commendation “WELL DONE” is enjoying the presence of our living Lord and Savior Jesus. We know Mike’s absence here is very painful, especially for our dear sister Cheryl and her family, but look to the day when our every tear shall be wiped away and we too shall enjoy what Mike does now-the very presence of his, and our, dear friend Jesus.
As devastating as it is to lose such a beautiful person in this life, we know that Mike is in a much better place, and we rejoice in the fact that he is without suffering and with his Maker. I send all my love and heartfelt deepest sympathies to Cheryl, Barbara, Elizabeth, Daniel, David, Philip, Paul, and the entire Zach clan. You are all in my thoughts and prayers.
We are extending deepest sympathy to Michael’s Dad and all of Michael’s family. The Family only lived a few blocks from us in Fremont. Renee and siblings used to baby sit for us. Also went to the Knights of Columbus activities with Elaine and Ed. Our kids also extend sympathy; Pam, Greg, Steve, Roger and Sandy. We had a chance to visit Ed and Elaine when they were in Hastings.
Yeh, he was a goodie! Appreciated him so much! Bless you Zach family! Strong in the Lord and in the power of his might…And he is not dead but alive with God in heaven…
Mike was a great friend to Carol and I as we endeavored to see the Lord begin a new church in Rhode Island in the 1980’s and 1990’s. We rejoice in how the Lord used Mike to be a great blessing to us that commenced during that period of time, and then for years later in California. We look forward to seeing him again in glory.
To the Zach family, Lee and I are so sorry for your loss of Mike. We didn’t get to know him well but could see the love he had. Reminded us of Ed. Ed and Elaine were friends over the many years as I baby sat when they were in Fremont and I was attending Midland College in the summer of 1954. Lee sold Ware Ever cook ware with Ed in those years. Mike was little but very well behaved. Over the years we visited with Ed and Elaine and got to meet some of the rest of the family. We attended their 50th Anniversary in Hastings. We last saw Ed a couple years ago in the Living Center off of 90th and he loved telling us about his family. Our sympathy to you all and may God grant you peace.
Much love to Cheryl and all of the family. Praise God for Mike Zach! He ran an amazing race. He worked hard for Jesus. He taught me the Bible in a way that shaped my life for the better. I looked up to him as a child, and as I grew up and even now. He helped me learn how to behave in God’s house. How to worship, how to pray, how to love God’s people and His Word. I look forward to seeing him again in glory. What a mighty man. I’m privileged to have known him.
Condolences and prayers for comfort for Cheryl and the dear Zach family. For us, we thank you for the hospitality you’ve shown to us. I will always remember my brief time in your home and the love! May the Lord continue to use your family to His glory!❤️
I have few words, though deeply grateful words, for the Zachs. All the Zachs.
Cheryl, Amen and Amen to all you shared of your husband’s life. What a faithful Joshua, from his first God-breath til final resolute exhale, Cheryl, may God’s unfailing love enfold you.
Children, what a banner over each of you! May songs of deliverance surround, preserve and answer you!
Til we meet again…
When Mike and Cheryl visited St. Louis, it was always uplifting. Mike loved the Lord and took such an interest in serving and praying with people. So many years ago, but a vivid memory. My thoughts and prayers at this difficult time, for Cheryl and the entire family.
Mike was an amazing shepherd from the first moment I met him. I had just returned home as a veteran with Vietnam service. Mike and Cheryl were invited to my apartment in Omaha when I cam back and enrolled at UNO. They endured my attempt at Chicken Cacciatore and I remember their daughter Barbara as a toddler. Mike was always a compassionate evangelist and was instrumental as a wise guide for my meeting the women I have loved for over 40 years, Pat. He visited us in the places we served as minsters of Christ. Mike had a wonderful combination of spiritual care along with a sense of humor and, if I can say it, good hearted mischief. Our family loved him and we will never forget him. He has run the race and finished his course and now is with the communion of saints watching over us as we run the race. We owe him much and love and mourn his loss! Godspeed dear servant of God!
I would like to offer my sincere condolences to Cheryl and the entire Zach family. Was always so inspired by Mike’s example. So glad to know he finished his race well! To God be the glory!
Could someone in the family of Ed e-mail us his address? We got our card back today as undeliverable and would love to keep in touch with him or family. I think Mary helped with cards last year. Thanks! and again our sympathy to all of you.
I knew Mike as my insurance agent for medicare insurance. I knew him in this way for several and really liked him and recommended him to others. He was caring, thoughtful and honest. I trusted him. I am sorry for the loss to your family. I will miss getting to see him. He “looked out” for his clients.
I am so thankful for the day I met Mike and Cheryl Zach. They shared the love of Jesus to me while I was a college student at UNO. Mike was great friend and a mentor. Mike loved Jesus and he loved to tell others about his Savior. Mike was very personable. He had the ability to make friends and challenge them to a deeper walk with Jesus. I am thankful for all the people that Mike has pointed to Jesus.
Cheryl may God comfort you and your family during this difficult time.
Dear Zach family, many condolences to your entire family did your loss. But we know it is only temporary. Mike is with his Savior with no tears but joy and a crown. Mike was a great exampke of a man of faith. Humble. Serious. Personable. Godly. Founded in the Word . And just a good guy. Thank you for sharing his life with all of us the past years. Lord bless you real big
I first heard Mike Zach in the early 1980s. He was a spirited evangelistic preacher who drilled deep into the scriptures. There’s no doubt the man loved the Lord and was passionate about sharing the salvation story. He was not ashamed to be a Christian. He was a unique man for sure. May God bless the Zach family.
To all of the Zachs: I am just so thankful for the example of all of you and am sorry for your loss at this time.
Dear Cheryl,
Thank you for sharing this wonderful man with the rest of us. All of our lives have been blessed and furthered along in our heavenly journey by the underrowing and faithful shepherding of both you and Mike. How great a treasure is layed up in Heaven for your faithful service to Jesus and His saints. We are assured: That God has not forgotten your work and labor of love, which you have showed to His Name, and that you have ministered to His saints and do minister. So we rejoice with you at this time that Mike is enjoying the rewards of His labor and is blessed beyond measure.
“And I heard a voice from Heaven saying unto me, ‘Write, Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; and their works do follow them.'”
We love you and your family very much,
Pat, Elia, and family
We were so shocked and saddened to hear the news about Mike.He will be missed, but we know that he is with the Savior he served. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Zach family at this time. He was a godly man, and we always appreciated kids kindness and sense of humor, especially when he used to advise us as a young married couple with children. God bless you, Sheryl, Barbara,Daniel, David, Philip, Paul and Elizabeth, and keep you in his grace during this difficult time.
Mike had such a genuineness about him whenever he would visit St Louis which is why April and I asked him to officiate our wedding back in 1995. We are privileged to have been blessed by his counsel and godly and selfless encouragement. Our sincerest condolences for you Cheryl and the rest of the Zach family. Until that glorious Day!
Offering our condoléances to you Cheryl and family and Nancy and family and to the whole Zach clan. Always looked forward to Mike’s visits to Ottawa. He was so loving (and lovable) and encouraging. Be blessed and comforted at the thought of Who and what Mike now sees and hears..
Faith Hope Love these will Endure…Blessings dear ones????
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