Donald Richard Ziesig

Donald Richard (Don) Ziesig, of Orlando, Florida, passed away on July 29, 2023, at the age of 80. He was born to the late Donald Rudolph Ziesig and Ruth (Gerber) Ziesig on January 29, 1943, in Ozone Park, NY.

Don was a brilliant engineer who was also armed with a dry wit and kind soul. He graduated with a BS degree in Electrical Engineering from Manhattan College. He served as Technical Director at Systems Consultants in Dayton, OH, and the Head of the Image Processing Laboratory at Lockheed Martin in Orlando. During his long and impressive career, he worked on projects that included the Apollo missions, the SR-71 Blackbird, fingerprint analysis for the FBI (for which he holds a patent), and navigation and targeting software for the LANTIRN and LONGBOW pods used on F-14, F-15, and F-16 fighters, and Apache helicopters. If they could take pictures of it, he wrote software to analyze it.

Don learned to sail, and race sailboats as a young man, and maintained a love of sailing and boating throughout his life. He captained boats for many a family vacation and tried his best to teach his children the art, although they at-best forgot and at-worst ran into an island. He was a pilot and enjoyed taking his family on trips around the Eiffel Tower at Kings Island in Ohio. He was also a music lover who enjoyed playing the piano to entertain family, friends, and anyone else who was listening. He was a model train enthusiast who joined the Orlando N Trak club in 2004, loved to run the Shelfton Turn, and served as Secretary for the club for a decade. He was a history buff, who would watch WW2 documentaries for hours on end.

Don was a loving husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle, and friend. He enjoyed entertaining and the company of family and friends. He had a gentle soul with a huge heart, a beautiful smile, and an infectious laugh. His face would light up every time he told a joke or funny story. He was always willing to share his knowledge and help his children, nieces, nephews, and grandchildren with schoolwork if they needed it. He was happy to put aside his pride and don a costume or funny hat to make his family smile.

Don is survived by his loving wife of 56 years, Carol (Piacente) Ziesig, his children Jim Ziesig, David Ziesig, and Janice Ziesig, his sisters Lynn Ziesig and Lea Tung, and his grandchildren Mackenzy, Carlisle, Joshua, and Rebecca. He is preceded in death by his parents and his brother Robert Ziesig. He will be dearly missed.

A Memorial Service will be held on Saturday, August 19, 2023 at 1:00 pm at Newcomer Funeral Home - East Orlando Chapel, 895 S. Goldenrod Rd, Orlando, FL 32822 with Deacon Joe Gassman officiating.

The family will receive friends from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm on Saturday, August 19 at the funeral home.

In lieu of flowers, a donation can be made to one of the following:
The Climate Reality Project, The Union of Concerned Scientists, or The Orlando N-Trak Club

To share your memories of Don or leave a special message of condolence for his family, please visit the guestbook below.