Teddy Zorn

Irwin Theodore (Teddy) Zorn left this world after a short illness. He passed away Christmas Eve 2025 at Logan Health ICU in Kalispell with loved ones at his side.

Memorial service will be held Friday, January 2, at 11:00 am at Our Saviour Lutheran Church in Chester. 

Ted was born in 1942, to Raymond August Zorn and Ellen Skonard Zorn in Chester MT. He attended Chester Schools and graduated in 1960. Throughout these years he was always a prankster and full of mischief. He loved sports and opted to be the manager of football and basketball as his parents didn’t sign for him to play. He had many friends and there was never a dull moment when you were with Ted. Oh, the stories he told.

He was drafted into the Army in 1964 to serve his country. He became a wheel mechanic and worked on several bases around the US. He had several buddies and kept in touch with them after the service. He was honorably discharged in 1966.

In 1967 Mary Ann Peterson, a young music teacher, came to town and caught his eye. He asked to go on a date after they had danced in Inverness. The rest was history as they had been married 3 days shy of 56 years. And everyone said it would never last! They welcomed two children into their lives: Steffani and Darrell. These two children grew to be talented and successful individuals who carried on in Ted’s footsteps of knowing how to work hard and be conscientious.

Ted was always known as a very dedicated and hard worker. During high school he delivered newspapers for the Seattle PI and received an award from the company for his diligent work. He loved farming and worked for Leo Jensen for many years and Ray Standiford. He attended Helena Vo-Tech and earned a degree in Diesel pump repair. After graduation he was hired by Gomer’s Diesel and worked in Great Falls and Belgrade for several years. Ted also worked for both the Toole County and Liberty County Road Departments running a variety of machinery and making sure the roads were maintained. His last job was working for the Liberty County Cemetery as the Saxton maintaining eight cemeteries through Liberty County. He loved this job and took great pride in keeping up the final resting place for many of his friends and family members.

Beyond his paid employment, Ted was a volunteer for a variety of organizations. He was a 4-H leader in three counties, first responder for the north Toole County ambulance, volunteer firefighter for the Chester Fire Department, member of the Lions club, and he even taught Sunday school!

Ted will be best known for his quick wit and huge library of jokes. His T-shirts always caused the reader to smile and laugh. He loved watching high school athletics. He would spend 6 hours at the games watching all games being played. He had many friends and was always social and fun-loving. He never met a stranger!

He is survived by his wife Mary Ann, Daughter Steffani (Jason) Wanken, Son Darrell (Kim) Zorn and his greatest gifts, his grandchildren, Tyler, Mitch and Madison.

In Ted’s memory a scholarship fund will be set up at First Bank of Montana to be given to a CJI graduate that will be pursuing a career in the trades.