Condolences for Daniel J. Zubich, III

My condolences to all of Dan’s family. He was my nephew, but 2 years older than me. I knew him mostly as a teenager, when we were growing up in Hibbing. He was a good student, and I enjoyed exchanging and defending ideas with him when the occasion arose. I’m not surprised at his success and popularity as a teacher and coach. Our family had an abundance of musical talent, and we would all get pushed into performing occasionally. He and I actually sang a duet on the then WMFG radio (I goofed one line, but he was perfect throughout!) It is heartening, but as I said, not surprising to see how much he was appreciated in his career and life. He has left a wonderful family legacy. Ray Reed

I believe I had Mr. Zubich for 8th grade English. The seemingly unkept hair, tall stature, frowning face, and reputation were all intimidating to me at my young age. I remember while attending his classes, they were always silent enough to hear a pin drop. When he would write on the chalkboard he had such horrible handwriting. And you could never forget that puffy winter coat! As a student of his, I never knew anything about Mr. Zubich outside of the classroom beyond his love for coaching sports at Babbitt High School. I thank him for remaining true to his beliefs and guiding so many of us through our teenage years. Peace and Love to Mr. Zubich and his family.

Mr. Zubich was one of my very favorite English teachers. I remember being a 7th grader and a little intimidated by this tall man whose voice could get loud if kids were goofing off. But mostly I remember a kind man who was an excellent teacher and helped a 12-year-old shy girl come out of her shell and get some much needed confidence. One of my fondest and most vivid memories is a fun assignment he gave our class -- to write down the lyrics of a song and interpret them. He told the class that "American Pie" by Don McLean was one of his favorites and it was long and would be hard, but if someone chose it they would get an automatic A. I think he was joking, but a friend of mine and I whispered to each other and our hands shot up and we chose it, thinking we were being funny. We were good students, but wanted to be his favorites and we wanted that A. Paired up, we did our best to interpret a complicated, very long song (after playing the 45 record over and over and over, frantically trying to catch each word). Mr. Zubich patiently listened to our presentation of the lyrics we hadn't quite got right and what was probably a pretty feeble attempt at deciphering their meaning. He supported our interpretation and praised us. Then he explained all the parts we hadn't understood. We got our A. While many others will remember Mr. Zubich as their coach, some of my fondest memories of school were those hours in Mr. Zubich's English class. I'm so happy to read that he had a good life and enjoyed his family so much. (I remember when he got married to Ms. Tranby!) My condolences to his family. I'm lucky he was my teacher.

I am sorry to hear of Dan's death. I had fun and enjoyed coaching baseball with Dan for three years. I got to know him better and really appreciated our relationship. I will miss him.

I had the pleasure of getting to know Coach Zubich while I played men's basketball at NCTC where he was the assistant Women's coach. He made the long bus rides infinitely better. Please accept my sincere condolences.

Eddie Walberg hit the nail on the head when he wrote, “You got us believing in ourselves enough that…: - Well, Danny, I want to add to the ‘that’. As you know, I was not a native Brooklynite, but moved to the neighborhood while in elementary school, so that my family could care for their parents, who were physically displaced by the mining efforts going in North Hibbing. Anyhow – I was on the south end of Brooklyn, some 500 yards away from Tilock’s corner, which was at the intersection of 13 Ave E. and 15th Street. Looking back, this might well have been called “Brooklyn’s Nerve Center”, as anytime anyone wanted to know about anything sports-related going on with Brooklyn kids, this is where they checked. Someone there, always, always knew what was going on. As Eddie alluded to, Danny, you had a knack for getting kids to elevate, to rise up, to act as a team, and to have no fear of competition – but also, to be respectful about it. One of your first teams to take it all ( if not the first ) was a bunch of kids who played on your Midget fast-pitch team, simply named “Brooklyn”. We had no uniforms – in fact, had no real sponsor...except those that you tin-cupped into giving us a little something, enough to buy us Kelly green and white , short-sleeved shirts. Those shirts ? Well, we all thought they were New York Yankee pinstripes. Anyhow, …we called that cow-pasture like, pebble-filled, grassless area, Coons Dock, “Home field”. You had us practice there, hours, upon hours, upon hours – and more hours – drilling into us nothing but fundamentals. You remember, Danny, the famous Zubich dictatorial, “…take one and cover your base” drill, Right? Hour-after-hour-after-hour. And if you caught someone not paying attention, that someone got to take a scenic 5, 6 or 7 lap tour around the entirety of Coons Dock, which, at part of it, was not that far from the Pierce Mine’s edge. So, , Danny….that group, the one that won it all, whether still with us or not, sends their sincere “Thank you” to you for all you did for us, and all that you taught us about life. We certainly never realized it at the time, but you were our first look, collectively and directly, at what an adult was, how an adult should behave, and what being held accountable truly meant, and would eventually have as a social and societal worth. Sincerely, we are - David Wallberg, Marty Ban, Jim “Potsy: Gerow, David :Kook” Kosel, LeRoy “Cha” Olson, Denny “Golden Glove” Minzghor, Billy Munger, Ross Salminen, Jim Ryun, Louie Bruno, Jimmy Tilock, Peter Tilock, and me…. Mike “Chocolate” D’Aquila

I treasure the memories of knowing Dan, Kathy, Taryn and Danny during our time at USM and driving to Babbit for a visit as well. My thoughts & prayers are with you all at this time.

Mr. Zurich was my 7 th grade English teacher. Those JR High years are always hard and he was excellent in helping me maintain my integrity and holding my head high during some trying times. I will never forget our “talk” that helped me through. I often talk about his support to others. My deepest condolences to his family and friends.

Rest In Peace, Dan : Fond memories of you bringing a “ rag time “ bunch of Brooklyn kids to a fast pitch city championship! Absolutely great coaching accomplishment! Mesaba Service and Supply, ( our sponsor) bought us all jackets! You got us believing in ourselves enough that we beat the Hibbing “ jocks “ for the championship ! Thanks for the memories! We couldn’t have done that without you !

Our condolences to our niece Becky and all of Dan’s family. We are thinking of you and wish you healing and peace. Sending outlets love to you all. Katherine and Mike