Robert Franklin Zant

Robert was born September 28, 1943 in Lake Park, GA to Francis (Frank) and Norma Zant. He graduated Palatka High School class of 1961 and earned his Bachelor and Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy from University of Florida Gainesville. During those years Robert also married his high school sweetheart Sue Ann Frazier of Palatka and created a family with their 2 daughters Lynn and Tina. Together they created many adventures, expanding their horizons via cooking, dance, or art classes and traveling the world in search of places “not many tourists get to see.”

Dr. Zant’s career path in computer science was founded in his math and accounting degrees. He participated in projecting trajectories for NASA’s 1969 moon landing and acted as consultant to large corporations and government agencies on the viability of personal computing and development of software programs in the 1970’s. He worked as a professor, department chair, and/or acting dean for several universities, such as Clemson University (SC), North Texas State University (now UNT in Denton), University of Alabama Huntsville, Illinois State University Bloomington, and University of Houston (TX).

Robert found profound joy in spending time with his family (including a succession of four-legged friends), supporting his Gator Nation teams, and spreading his wealth of knowledge across a variety of subjects. He was never at a loss to describe in great detail any location he had visited and the cultural, culinary, artistic, architectural, and geographical phenomena he had experienced. He was particularly intrigued by the brush strokes of impressionist painters and the harmony of The Eagles.

He is survived by his loving wife of 62 years Sue, his daughters Lynn Zant Birch (John, d. 2022) and Tina Zant (Jeff Ball), his grandchildren Kelly Birch (Charles Ramseyer), Corey Birch, Kaitlyn Birch, and Tanner Kobal (Zant), and his loyal German Shepherd Sadie.

In his afterlife, we hope that he finally knows the glory of a perfect golf swing, the security of exiting a ski lift without incident, the joy of singing on key, and the freedom of living in an Airstream trailer.

Dr. Zant and his family request that any commemorations are made to “Help Save 2 Lives: A Warrior and a Rescue Dog” through a donation to K9s for Warriors at donate.k9sforwarriors.org.