
JOSEPH ZEVNIK, age 57; beloved husband for 30 years of Linda (nee Fusco); loving father of Stephanie (fiancé Kory Boughton) and Joey; cherished son of the late Frank and Pauline (nee Kobal); treasured brother of Ann Hirselj (husband Emil), Mary Blatnik (husband Victor) and Frank (wife Laura); dearest son-in-law of Barbara and the late Simone Fusco; dear brother-in-law, uncle and friend of many.
Joe was born on March 2, 1959 in Cleveland and passed away suddenly on May 7, 2016. He was a resident of Highland Heights for 13 years, formerly of Wickliffe. Joe was a parishioner of St. Vitus Catholic Church and of St. Paschal Baylon Catholic Church.
He graduated from St. Joseph High School in 1977 and John Carroll University in 1981. Joe was a past president and board member of the Cuyahoga Funeral Directors Association (CFDA), a member of the Embalmers Association and the American Slovenian Club.
Joe was the operator and managing Funeral Director of Zevnik-Cosic Funeral Home. He loved cars, poker, polka music, spending time with family and friends and good food. Joe’s Slovenian heritage was very important to him. He will be remembered by family, friends, and the community as a hard working, loving, dedicated and loyal man. Joe was trustworthy, honest, generous and giving. Whenever you asked Joe to do something, he would respond “I’ll take care of it” and you knew it would get done to perfection. Joe will be greatly missed by all who knew him.
Funeral Services
Mass of Christian Burial Thursday, May 12, 2016 at St. Vitus Catholic Church 6019 Lausche Ave Cleveland, OH 44103 at 10 AM. Burial is following at All Souls Cemetery. Family will receive friends to pay tribute to and celebrate the life of Joe at THE ZEVNIK-COSIC FUNERAL HOME 28890 CHARDON RD. (BETWEEN BISHOP RD AND RT. 91) WILLOUGHBY HILLS TUESDAY 5-8 PM and WEDNESDAY 2-4 and 5-8 PM.
Memorial donations may be made to the charity of your choice.
Donate [https://funeraldonations.makemydonation.org/256/joseph-zevnik?r=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dejohnfuneral.com%2Fjoseph-zevnik%2F]Offer Condolence for the family of Joseph Zevnik

Lena Macfarlane
Dear Linda and family- I am so sorry for your loss. Lena Macfarlane
Connieandvinnceariemma
Sorry for the loss linda
Aunt Karen
Dear Linda, Stephanie , and Joey,
My thoughts and prayers are with your family. I so sorry for your loss. I am looking forward to meeting you at Steph and Kory’s wedding . Kory has spoken very highly of Joe. He sounded like a wonderful man.
May God bless you in this time of sorrow .
Karen (Boughton) Blackham
Idaho
Sara Mangol
Linda, my heartfelt sympathies to you and your children, I cannot imagine what you are going through, my thoughts and prayers to all of you–Sara Mangol
carmen frederico
Thoughts and prayers to the Zevnik family .Joe was a life long friend to me and my family and his kindness and friendship will never be forgotten.
Jack & Elaine Mastrangelo
Our deepest sympathy to Linda, Stephanie, ,Joey and extended family. We send our prayers and will miss Joe. R.I.P. Joe.
John Hanna and your friends at McGorray-Hanna
To Linda and family,
I am so sorry. Joe was a great man and colleague who could always make you smile. You and your children our in our thoughts and prayers.
Keith Boughton
To Linda and entire Zevnik family our deepest sympathy on this awful event. Even though we had not known Joe for very long, he seemed to us to be a mans man. He loved his family and heritage deeply. I remember when we helped move Kory from his home to Grandma Fusco’s, Joe brought over his prized auto and we stood out in the driveway drinking a beer and talking classic cars. We hardly got to know you Joe, but you made an impression on us early. Our LOVE to all.
Keith and Kathy Boughton
Dan &Marsha Joyce
Linda and family : So sorry to hear about Joe , sorry we can’t come to calling or mass as we are out of the country . We were able to go to mass and light a candle for Joe at the Basillica of San Marco Venice , Italy .
TimMcneill
My Condolences go out to Frank and the Zevnik family. Joe used to hang around with a group of us we attended St.Vitus and St. Joseph High school. He was a joy to be around and always has a smile. God Bless to you all.
john hutar
Like so many, we were shocked to hear of Joe’s passing. Joe took such good care of us during our Mom’s recent passing. As the obituary said, you asked Joe once and it was done. Our families were friends for so many years – from the altar boy days at St. Vitus to St. Joe’s during high school and then on to our adult/professional lives. We were so proud of Joe with the success he achieved as a funeral director. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family.
Sincerely,
John, Lisa and the Hutar family
Mike Stanic
My deepest condolences to Joe’s family and friends. I just spoke with Joe in January when my father passed away, he was so consoling and supportive. We spoke as friends although we hadn’t seen each other in almost 40 years. He was a great guy.
James Modic & wife
Our deepest sympathy to the family. We were neighbors of his dad Frank and mom Pauline in Cleveland years ago and knew their wonderful son Joe….Our prayers and thoughts go out to the family and pray God’s blessings on all.
Harry J. Kobetitsch
To Linda and the Zevnik family. Though it has been a long time since I last spoke to Joe, he was a man of integrity and console. I will always remember him most for his mannerisms that made him such an approachable person. Thoughts and prayers from my family and friends in Chicago go out to you and your family.
May the Lord be with you and God bless you,
Harry Kobetitsch (Viking Class of ’77)
Joe Sciuva
Dear Linda,
I cant even express how saddened I am by the loss of Joe. I met Joe just out of high school when I had an interest in this profession. I learned so much from Joe about being a good honest funeral director. He was and honest person of integrity and just an all around great guy. We also had a lot of fun together! The only thing I regret and that I have learned from this is that I should have seen him more often because now this has happened. Please know I am keeping all of you in my prayers and am sending love and hugs.
Thomas Mills
My heart hurts as I read about Joe’s untimely death. He always greeted me with smile and kind words. I will pray through him, that God will give us peace and warm our hearts as he did throughout his life.
Tom Malensek
Frank,
My sympathies to you and the the Zevnik family. Ken and I often reminisce about our days at the store and your family is always included. I think of your dad dropping off your mom and then later you bringing her, of you and Joe coming and talking about the cars you had at the time. My heart goes out to you and your family. I know that Joe will always be with you in your memories that can never be taken from you.
Tom Lavelle
My sincere condolences to the Zevnik Family.
I knew Joe from JCU. He was a good student and we were both working our way through college. He wasn’t born with a silver spoon and had to work hard to accomplish his goals. He worked for Cirino and I worked for Cleveland Auto Livery. He was always a gentleman and hard worker. We had many common interests and I always enjoyed his company.
Our family went to Joe when my father in law passed away and he was compassionate and professional. I am sure many Slovenians went to Joe because they knew he took care of their families.
Neal Sugarman
Linda, we are so sorry for your loss and have Joe and your entire family in our thoughts and prayers.
Steve Sender
Linda & family,
I am so sorry for your loss.
Please know that you are in my prayers.
Lynn Hermensky
Linda, I am so very sorry to hear about your loss. Please know that you are in my constant thoughts and prayers. I hope the wonderful and beautiful memories together get you through this very difficult time. Hugs, love and prayers to you sweet friend. xoxo
Kirsten
Linda,
I am so sorry for your loss and for your children. I cannot imagine what you must be going through. My thoughts and prayers are for your family.
Tricia Vidovic
Linda, friends and family- please know that you are all in my thoughts and prayers. I am so sorry for your loss. Tricia Vidovic
Tammy B.
Linda, I’m so sorry for your loss. My God bless you and your family.
Margo
Linda,
I am so sorry for your loss. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.
Roberta Fazio
Linda:
We are so sorry. Please know that our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.
Roberta (Robbi) and John Fazio
Dan and Tina Evers
Frank and Laura,
We are so sorry to hear about your brother’s passing. Your family and Joe’s family are in our prayers.
Interesting on how small the world really is – my son works with Linda and my nieces are friends with your son.
Marjan Kovac
Linda, Frenk and Laura,
Hearing about loss of Josepf has deeply saddened me and my parents (Joze and Ivanka).
You are in our thoughts and prayers.
However, take comfort in knowing that Joseph is now resting in the arms of our Lord.
Our heartfelt sympathy goes out to you and your families.
from Slovenia, Marjan Kovac
Kathie T
Linda
I was so sorry to hear of your loss. My sincere condolences to you and your family.
Chris Schneider and Danielle Halee
Linda and Zevnik family
We are so sorry for your loss. Our thoughts and prayers are with you at this time.
God Bless You.
Eric Primuth
To the Zevnik family and friends,
Many fond memories of Joe at St. Joe’s and the chuckles and kind demeanor that he always provided to those around him. Each time that I had the opportunity to speak with Joe over the years, though many years in between, would always seem like there was no long lapse of time, as he always made you feel comfortable and a kindred spirit. The Slovenian love for life was a guiding factor for him and hopefully for many of us as well.
God Bless you and may the peace of the Lord be with you in these difficult times.
Sincerely,
Eric Primuth (Vikings ’77)
Ron and Cynthia Willkomm
Linda and family,
We are so sorry for your loss of Joe. I met Joe through my friend
Pat Hanrahan and always enjoyed his company when I would see him.
You and your family are in our thoughts and prayers.
Ron
Noreen Rhodw
Dear Linda, Stephanie and Joey,
My deepest sympathy to all of you. Your family is in my deepest thoughts. I was not able to attend visitation due to some medical problems. I am glad Colleen was able to attend. I will pray that God will give you the strength to continue with all that you have to face.
Henry Corona
Dear Linda, Stephanie, Joey and rest of family,
I am a former co-worker of Joe’s and was deeply saddened to hear the shocking news of his passing. I would like to extend my deepest sympathy and condolences. Joe and I shared a deep interest in and affection for classic sporty cars, which we always enjoyed talking about during breaks and lunch. Occasionally we also got together after work with other co-workers. May he rest in peace. He will be missed by many. Know that all of you are in our thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.
Andrea Markus Mace
Dear Linda and family,
I am so sorry to hear of Joe’s recent passing. I have such fond memories of our grade school days, he was funny, always nice, and was always such a gentleman. I always knew he would be a success. His untimely death is is too sad, my heart goes out to all of you. May you find comfort in your memories. May Gid bless you.