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Ed Zander was driven to succeed Medford businessman, TV station manager, died on New Year's Day By GREG STILES Mail Tribune On the airwaves, at the ballpark and throughout local commerce, Ed Zander left his mark on Jackson County. The 61-year-old television executive and businessman died early New Year's Day while visiting friends in Oregon City. Zander was one of the most powerful and influential people in Southern Oregon. His aggressive, hard-charging demeanor allowed him to fight his way to the top in local broadcasting with a high-school equivalency diploma and 18-hour days, a desk with three ringing telephones and constant pressure. His business career was two-pronged, rising from an account executive to general manager of Medford's KOBI and Klamath Falls' KOTI, and developing a 30-year partnership with Rogue Valley resident Fred Herrmann that started with a Stop-and-Go Market in White City, later included ownership of Medford's minor league baseball franchise and finally real estate investments. "He was feeling real good when I saw him Friday, just before he went up to Oregon City," Herrmann said. "It was a sudden thing." Zander grew up in Vallejo, Calif., and was a three-sport star at Armijo High School in nearby Fairfield. After a stint in the Army he moved to Eagle Point and ran the old Red Barn auction house in White City. In 1967, he joined what is now known as KOBI. In 1969 he teamed up with the late Bill Smullin to pioneer the Oregon Expo, which ran for 14 years. The four-day regional home, vacation, recreation and trade show became the largest such event west of the Mississippi River. He was named Jackson County Man of the Year in 1972 by the Jaycees and earned a variety of advertising industry awards. He was instrumental in raising $55,000 annually over a four-year period for construction of Eagle Point High School's baseball complex, six Little League fields and two Babe Ruth diamonds. In 1978, he turned down an invitation to meet with Jimmy Carter at the White House, thinking it was nothing more than a practical joke. But when press secretary Jody Powell made it clear that it was the president beckoning, Carter's 1976 Jackson County campaign chairman cleared his calendar. In the early 1970s, Zander, Herrmann - then the athletic director at Eagle Point High - and a couple of other partners launched what turned into a three-decade partnership. S & G Foods quickly grew to three Stop-and-Go Markets. As his business interests increased, so did Zander's girth. At one point, his 6-foot-1 frame carried 410 pounds. Zander was at the peak of a 27-year career in broadcasting, when a heart attack felled him in 1993. Clinically dead for about 12 minutes until paramedics shocked his heart back into action, doctors didn't hold out much hope that he would return to a normal life. But demonstrating the will-power that made him a Southern Oregon mover and shaker, Zander 15 months later took a job as marketing manager for Passey Advertising. "We were all blessed that we had a second chance," said his daughter, Jvon Danforth, who now lives in Prineville. "There were some wonderful years." Zander likened his months-long recovery to "Regarding Henry," a 1991 film in which Harrison Ford portrayed a cold lawyer who was shot down and recovered as a different man. "I cried all night after watching that," he told the Mail Tribune in 1994. "That's my story." A kinder, gentler and spiritual Zander eventually restarted the Expo in 1995. But his final years often found him with three grandchildren - Taylor, Jordan and Lanee as well as 9-year-old son Alex. His oldest son Bill lives in Medford as well. Funeral services are at scheduled for 11 a.m. Monday at Conger-Morris Funeral Home with interment at 2 p.m. at Eagle Point National Cemetery. Viewing will be from 1-3 p.m. Sunday at Conger-Morris. Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 776-4463 or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.