William J. Zeoli

    Billy Zeoli (Sept. 25, 1932-May 22, 2015) loved Christ and loved people, closing every correspondence with the words, “In His love and mine, Z.” He spent his life sharing the Good News of Christ, following in the path of his parents, Evangelist Anthony Zeoli and Elizabeth Hoffman. He was educated at German Town Academy, Philadelphia School of the Bible and graduated from Wheaton College in 1955. Zeoli worked with Youth for Christ in Indianapolis before joining Gospel Films in Muskegon, MI, as Vice President of Youth Films in 1960. He became President of Gospel Films in 1963, where he remained until retiring in 2005.

    Zeoli guided Gospel Films through multiple transitions as a distributor of the Christian message through media outreach -- from film to video to DVD to the internet. He led efforts for international TV campaigns in Africa and Asia, and free films with biblically based moral messages for U.S. secondary schools. By 1996, Gospel Films changed its name to Gospel Communications with the initiation of internet outreach.

    Zeoli also traveled extensively to speak at crusades and in the mid-1960s he began outreach to NFL and MLB teams, conducting chapel services on Sundays. He also developed a close relationship with his congressman, Gerald R. Ford, and made monthly pastoral visits to the White House during the Ford Presidency, as well as penning weekly devotionals for the President.

    With theologian Francis Schaeffer, Zeoli produced “How Should We Then Live,” a groundbreaking film series that provided a defense of the Christianity’s philosophical base. He authored two books, “God’s Got a Better Idea,” a compilation of the weekly devotionals he sent to President Ford, and “Supergoal.”

    He also worked as a business consultant, motivational speaker, and a cheerleader-at-large for positive thinking.

    Called “Billy” or “Z” by everyone he met, his family will miss his giant presence, his loving heart and his uncanny ability to order dessert first. He was happiest when he could combine family time with his work of ministry and outreach. He adored Italian food, had a fondness for elephants, travel, and Tom Clancy novels. 

    But what truly defined him was preaching -- to present the Gospel of Christ in a way that was compelling and filled with the hope of Jesus’ love.  

    He is survived by his children, Steven Zeoli, Patresha and Edward Roehre, David and Heather Zeoli, and Zachary Zeoli; his grandchildren Alesha and Don Schantz, Samantha Marker, Mia and Travis Moore, Anthony Zeoli, and Layla Zeoli; he is also survived by five great-grandchildren.  

    Visitation will be on Wednesday, May 27, from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Metcalf & Jonkhoff Funeral Home.  The funeral service will be at Third Reformed Church, 2060 Michigan St. NE, Grand Rapids, at 3 p.m. on Thursday, May 28. There also will be visitation in the church’s narthex beginning at 1 p.m.

    In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial gifts to scholarship funds in Billy Zeoli’s name at Calvin, Hope, Cornerstone or Kuyper colleges, or to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. 

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