Joel Lynn Zitron of Overland Park, Kansas, passed away at home on Jan. 22 with loved ones.
Graveside services were held on Jan. 23 at Sheffield Cemetery. Kindly omit flowers. The family requests donations to the Sheffield Cemetery Fund at Congregation Beth Israel Abraham and Voliner, for which he was a passionate advocate and fund-raiser.
Joel was born on Dec. 24, 1938, in Kansas City to Marian Alpert (Zitron) and Samuel Zitron. He graduated high school from Pembroke Country Day, where he played on multiple sports teams. He attended the University of Missouri and completed his BA at William Jewell College. He was married to Yalene Kusnetzky and maintained a deep friendship with her after their divorce. Joel and Yalene had three children together: Isaac David Zitron, Elizabeth Zitron and Aaron Zitron. Joel was married to Barbara Gross and they had one child together, Meredith Adler.
Joel was a lifelong lover of athletics. He was a basketball and volleyball coach and a classroom educator. Coach Z, as he was affectionately known, impacted thousands of young people through his love of basketball. Joel was most at home on the court, playing in his younger years then coaching for over four decades. He coached for multiple high schools, universities, colleges and leagues. He mentored countless players, even coaching generations from the same family. Many of his players went on to coach themselves. He kept track of their games and lent his time and expertise to their teams. He rarely missed one of his grandchildren’s games and coached them from the sidelines. Joel had strong opinions about how the game should be played that he never hesitated to share. It was his way of showing love for the players and the game. He never truly retired from coaching.
Baseball was also Joel’s deep love. He was a Royals season ticket holder, even when they were losing. He loved taking young people to games to introduce them to his passion. He was such good friends with the scalpers that his kids thought of them as honorary uncles when they were young. He visited baseball parks whenever possible and would strike up a conversation with anyone wearing MLB fan gear. He was a regular caller to many of the local sports talk radio shows.
Joel also cared about his Jewish community. He served as a shomer at Louis Memorial Chapel, raised funds for multiple local Jewish cemeteries and volunteered his time at multiple synagogues. Joel never liked to be still for too long and always found a cause or project to keep him busy.
Joel is survived by his son Isaac David Zitron; daughter Elizabeth Zitron and son-in-law Paul F. Chapman; son Aaron Zitron and daughter-in-law Bekah Schwimmer Zitron; daughter Meredith Adler and son-in-law Michael Adler; as well as grandchildren Teddy Zitron, Gus Zitron, Asher Tou and Marley Adler. He is preceded in death by his parents, Samuel Zitron and Marian Alpert.
