Zahn

Father Robert R. Zahn, M.M.

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Father Robert R. Zahn, M.M., a missioner to Japan, died Dec. 23 at Mission St. Teresa’s in Ossining. He was 92.

He was initially assigned to Japan following his ordination in 1955 as an assistant pastor at Matsuzaka parish in Mie Prefecture. He next served as a business manager for Maryknoll’s Japan region and as English-speaking secretary to the Bishop of Kyoto, 1960-1961. He was recalled to the United States where he served, first as director of the lay personnel office at Maryknoll headquarters in New York, then as director of publications and assistant director of the cultivation department, 1961-1966.

He returned to Japan in 1966, serving the next 15 years as pastor of the Ise city parish before returning to Matsuzaka parish as pastor in 1981. In 1978 he established Tokiwa House, a family-style residence for young men with mild mental disabilities. From 1983 until 2005, he also served as a pastor of Ise parish and Owase parish. He returned to the United States in 2005, taking up residence at Mission St. Teresa.

Born in Mandan, N.D., he entered Maryknoll in 1949 following service in the U.S. Army during and following after World War II in occupied Japan, 1943-1946. He holds bachelor’s degrees in chemistry from Montana State University and in sacred theology from Maryknoll Seminary in Ossining.

A Funeral Mass was offered Jan. 3 at Queen of Apostles Chapel at Maryknoll. Burial was in Maryknoll Society Cemetery, Ossining.

Father Robert R. Zahn, M.M.