Current leader has fascinating past

By Judy Babb

Zoltan Zsohar, known to friends as Z., watches White Rock Lake from his home’s den, which overlooks the Bath House Cultural Center and the lake. He’s eager to get out and by the lake soon but, for now, he is recuperating from a knee replacement he had last week. He plans to be off the sidelines by August.

Zsohar’s heritage is Hungarian, and while his siblings’ names morphed into American names, his has not. His family immigrated to the United States when he was two and a half years old. 

In his memory, he is all American, growing up in Waxahachie and graduating from high school there. Zsohar went to the University of Texas at Arlington. He earned a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering and got the nickname Z., or Zo, as his friends there called him. “When I graduated, I decided to go by Z,” he said. He graduated Feb. 1, 1970 and went to work for the Mobil Oil Corporation the next day. 

He and his wife Shirley have been married almost 51 years. They have three children, all girls. Lara Zsohar, 49, lives in Tulsa, Okla., Amy Zsohar, 47, has her doctorate in speech communication and works at a university in Minneapolis, and Lisa Galassini, 41, lives in The Woodlands with her husband and two children Jonathan, 9, and Lily, 7.

Zsohar worked for Mobil as a pipeline engineer and then advanced into management. He was with the company for 30 years and said only a few people knew his first name.

Zsohar took early retirement in 2000 and used his new freedom to research and write a book about his family and their struggles as they fled Hungary and lived in a refugee camp in Austria. “I took off for two years to write the book about their difficult life,” he said. 

They were in the refugee camp for five years before immigrating to the United States. Zsohar was born in the camp.

He interviewed his mother and father and friends who knew his parents when they moved to the United States. Zsohar is a stickler for the facts and spent time verifying their remembrances historically. His work culminated in the book, “Surviving Through Faith.”

Zsohar is an avid cyclist and is competitive about it. He has participated in many races, both in time trials and road races. Zsohar has two bikes and depending on which of the races he is entering, he chooses the bike he needs. He hopes to be back to riding in August.

Zsohar competes in his age level and has raced nationally. He competed in the national races in June 2013 in Cleveland and June 2019 in Santa Fe.

He looks forward to returning to riding the trails around the lake. Zsohar said people know him for his colorful kits — matching bike wear, shoes and helmet — as he rides the paths. 

Zsohar also has been a marathon runner. He started running in 1980 and started with a purpose in mind. Zsohar had gained a lot of weight. “I had started working for Mobil in 1970 and put on about 50 pounds that decade,” he said. Zsohar started with shorter distances and worked up to long ones. He ended up with 10 marathons under his belt. He’s run three Boston Marathons, five White Rock Lake marathons and others in Houston and New York City.

Zsohar also started an exercise program including gym workouts, swimming and weight training. He also runs around the lake and through his neighborhood.

The neighbors may not know him for all he has done for the lake but he has done a lot. Zsohar moved to the area about 10 and one half years ago. A couple of years later, then-For the Love of the Lake (FTLOTL) President Rich Enthoven invited him to a board meeting. “Next thing I knew, I was on the board,” Zsohar said. His participation with FTLOTL continued. He will step down from his three-year position as president at the end of December. 

While the position requires a lot of Zsohar, one of the big jobs is the regular monthly lake cleanup. The group has real value for the city. In June, Zsohar sent an email to the City of Dallas Parks and Recreation department detailing the work of the group. All the volunteer’s time and hard work in June had a monetary value of $35,035 and a total for the year of $203,405. 

He also informed the department that 11 groups provided 527 volunteers who donated more than 550 hours. Zsohar bragged on the community’s dedication.

“We continue to have strong volunteer support to keep White Rock Lake Park and White Rock Lake clean in spite of the very hot temperatures,” Zsohar said.

As he heals at home, Zsohar enjoys his view. He looks forward to continued walks with Shirley. She enjoys having the lake near her doorstep. And while Zsohar’s doctors have grounded him from running, no one can take away his love of the lake and the community.