Jerrold Zar

It is with hearts both heavy and full of gratitude that we say goodbye to our beloved Jerry Zar. To the world, he was Dr. Jerrold Howard Zar, a renowned biologist and Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a man whose quiet intellect reshaped how we understand statistics in the biological sciences. But to us, he was simply Jerry—a husband, a father, a grandfather with dirt perpetually under his fingernails and a wonder in his eyes that never dimmed. You’d find him not in a stuffy lab, but on his knees in the garden, showing a grandchild the miraculous architecture of an ant colony, or pointing out the subtle differences in two oak leaves as if they were old friends. His joy was in the tangible world, in the precise beauty of a well-ordered data set that told a story of nature, and in the gentle, patient act of teaching anyone who would listen. Jerry’s legacy is woven deep into the fabric of his family. For over 50 years, he was Evelyn’s steadfast partner, their love a quiet, enduring force built on shared cups of tea, endless walks, and a mutual devotion to their children and grandchildren. He was a father who showed up, not with grand gestures, but with his full, present attention—helping with homework (especially anything math-related, of course), building elaborate Lego cities, and always, always making time for a bedtime story. His children and grandchildren were his greatest pride, and his love for them was as constant as the northern Illinois seasons he studied. His passion wasn’t confined to academia; it spilled over into his beloved vegetable garden, which was less about the harvest and more about the cycle of life