Kenneth Harry Zilli

A native of the Bronx New York, he was raised in in Somerville, New Jersey where he graduated from Somerville High School in 1959.

The son of the late Harry and Inez Zilli, he is survived by his loving wife, Nancy Bass Zilli and his sister, Claire Zilli Verdini, both of Williamsburg, Virginia; a niece, Kathy Z. McLernon and her sons, Sean and Ryan of Sarasota, Florida; his nephew, Matthew and his children, Lincoln and Colton of Austin, Texas; nephew, Andrew and his children, Cashel and Giuliana of Austin, Texas. His older brother Robert John Zilli predeceased him.

After graduating from Seton Hall University in South Orange New Jersey in 1963, Mr. Zilli served in the Army Field Artillery. He then took a management intern position with the Navy Polaris Missile Office in Washington D.C. in a liaison office with the British Polaris Programme. That was the first of a series of positions spanning thirty two years, managing the development and procurement of various Naval guns, mines and missiles. His longest tenure was with the Navy’s High Energy Laser Program, a research and development organization aimed at developing lasers for ship defense. Prior to that, for a period of five years, he was responsible for the Government's contract with the Applied Physics Laboratory of the Johns Hopkins University, a Federal Contract Research Center. He retired from the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command in San Diego, but quickly “beat a hasty retreat to the green grass of Virginia and the East Coast.”

He was an avid baseball fan for much of his life up until the time “.222 hitters were making twenty times more than Ruth and Williams ever did.” A traveler who had visited more than 80 countries from Afghanistan to New Zealand, he had also taken almost 80 cruises, mostly with his beloved wife, up until the time the Chinese flu put an unexpected end to seeing the world.

Mr. Zilli was a communicant of St. Joseph's Catholic Church, a traditional parish in Richmond, Virginia. A viewing will be held from 3-5pm and 7-8pm on Tuesday, July 15 at Woody Funeral Home, 1020 Huguenot Rd. Midlothian VA, 23113. A Requiem Mass will be held at 10am on Wednesday July 16 at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, 828 Buford Road, Richmond, VA 23235. Interment will follow at Mt. Hermon Baptist Church Cemetery, 18100 Genito Rd, Moseley, VA 23120.