Juanita King Zierenberg - zierenbergfamily.com

At a glance

Juanita Wilma King Zierenberg was remembered for her warmth, intelligence, faith, steady kindness, deep love for family, and lifelong interest in the people who came before her. She was the kind of woman who made people feel cared for, remembered, and connected.

Born25 June 1923 · Erie, Pennsylvania

ParentsLester William King and Eunice Alwilda Reid

MarriedRoger Herman Zierenberg Sr. · 28 November 1942 · Erie, Pennsylvania

FaithBaptized and confirmed 25 November 1951

Temple sealingSealed to Roger · 3 October 1955 · Los Angeles, California

ChildrenElizabeth, Roger Jr., Terry, Christine, Jared, and Corey

Family6 children, 34 grandchildren, and 85 great-grandchildren

Died7 January 2013 · Los Angeles, California

Early Years in Pennsylvania

Juanita was born on June 25, 1923, in Erie, Pennsylvania, the oldest child of Lester William King and Eunice Alwilda Reid. She grew up with two younger sisters, Jean and Norma, and a younger brother, Olyn, whom the family nicknamed Corky.

From the beginning, she was surrounded by loving parents and grandparents. That early security helped shape one of the defining qualities of her life: she became a nurturer. She looked after others, cared deeply, and often placed the needs of family before her own.

At about age five, the family moved to the farm on Harvey Street in Moorheadville, Pennsylvania. Juanita remembered her father’s tenderness toward her. He called her “Mimi” and gave her the kind of affection that stayed with her all her life.

Juanita learned early how to work, how to care for others, and how to make a home feel safe.

Juanita in 1943, during the early years of her marriage and the war years that took Roger away soon after they were married.

Life on the Farm

During the Great Depression, Juanita often felt blessed because the family farm provided food, work, and stability when many others were suffering.

Farm workShe helped milk cows, collect eggs, garden, and can food.

Plenty to eatThe family raised animals, grew berries, kept an orchard, and had strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, and apples.

Self-relianceFrom her parents and grandmother, Juanita learned work, capability, and practical homemaking.

She also loved to read. After finishing homework and chores, she could often be found curled up with a book while the other children played. That love of reading stayed close to her love of memory, learning, history, and family.

Roger and Juanita. Their marriage began during World War II, and much of their early life together was shaped by separation, service, faith, and family.

Roger, Marriage, and the War Years

In 1941, the Zierenberg family moved from Los Angeles to live near Juanita’s farm in Pennsylvania. There were three Zierenberg boys: Roger, Richard, and George. Roger, the oldest, took an interest in Juanita.

They courted, and as war approached, Roger decided he had better ask her to marry him before he left. She said yes. Within a few days, they were married in Erie, Pennsylvania, on November 28, 1942. They honeymooned in Cleveland.

Two months after the wedding, Roger was called away for military service. Juanita was left to begin married life under the pressure and uncertainty of World War II. Their first child, Elizabeth Jeanne, was born the following year.

Two brothers married two sisters: Roger married Juanita, and Richard married Norma.

Juanita was the home Roger came back to.

Roger’s war story is dramatic, but Juanita’s strength was quieter. She carried family life forward through separation, motherhood, faith, and decades of service to the living and the dead.

Faith and the Church

Juanita was taught to pray and read from the Bible from the time she was young. Her first church experience was memorable: as a toddler, she crawled under the pews and made her way to the pulpit, pulling herself up by the minister’s pant leg. Her parents were so embarrassed they never went back to that church.

Years later, two missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints knocked on her door on a cold day. Juanita let them in, and that decision changed the direction of her family. She and Roger studied with the missionaries and were eventually baptized as members of the Church.

Juanita believed the gospel gave her family a safe direction and a sure foundation. On October 3, 1955, she and Roger were sealed in the Los Angeles Temple.

Her faith was not separate from her family life. It shaped how she loved, served, remembered, and believed families continue beyond this life.

Her Love of Family History

Juanita’s interest in family history began when she was very young. She asked her father where their ancestors came from. She knew her mother’s people came from Scotland and Germany, and she wanted to understand her father’s side as well.

Each summer, the family spent time with the Reid family in Silver Creek, New York. Juanita spoke with Grandma Reid about family and the old country. They visited cemeteries, cleaned headstones, planted flowers, and talked about the people buried there.

Long before modern online research tools, Juanita already felt connected to those who came before her. After joining the Church and learning more deeply that family relationships continue beyond this life, her interest grew even stronger.

Juanita did not treat ancestors as names on paper. She knew them, loved them, and wanted their stories remembered.

The Living and the Dead

Her love of family was not limited to genealogy. She kept close relationships with living family members, especially her sister Norma. They spoke almost every night between 8:30 and 9:00 and called each other “my travel buddy.”

Her reach extended to grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She spent time listening, encouraging, understanding, and loving. She looked past flaws and made people feel seen.

She believed family was central, and that we are far more than a group of separate individuals. To Juanita, we belong together.

Timeline

1922
Lester William King married Eunice Alwilda Reid in New York.
1923
Juanita Wilma King was born on June 25 in Erie, Pennsylvania.
c. 1928
The family moved to the farm on Harvey Street in Moorheadville, Pennsylvania.
1941
The Zierenberg family moved nearby. Juanita met Roger Herman Zierenberg Sr.
1942
Juanita married Roger on November 28 in Erie, Pennsylvania.
1943
Daughter Elizabeth Jeanne “Beth” Zierenberg was born.
1944
Son Roger Herman Zierenberg Jr. was born.
1948
Child Terry Zierenberg was born.
1950
Child Christine Zierenberg was born.
1951
Juanita was baptized and confirmed on November 25.
1954
Child Jared Zierenberg was born.
1955
Juanita and Roger were sealed in the Los Angeles Temple on October 3.
1960
Child Corey Ann Zierenberg was born.
2013
Juanita died on January 7 in Los Angeles, California, at age 89.

What Her Family Should Remember

Juanita’s life was not defined by public attention. It was defined by love, family, faith, memory, and quiet service.

She was a reader, a nurturer, a farm girl, a young wartime wife, a mother, a grandmother, a great-grandmother, a sister, a traveler, a family historian, and a faithful daughter of Heavenly Father.

She cared about people on both sides of the veil. She remembered the dead and stayed close to the living. She wanted family members to know who they were, where they came from, and that they belonged to something eternal.

Together with Roger, Juanita loved 6 children, 34 grandchildren, and 85 great-grandchildren. Still does. Always will.

Read Roger’s page Read Bad Penny II Always Came Back

Full family notes

The longer source material can remain here so the page keeps the full family history while the main page stays readable.

Original life sketch notes

Juanita was the oldest of four children: Juanita, Jean, Norma, and Olyn “Corky.” She grew up on the farm in Moorheadville, Pennsylvania, helped with cows, eggs, gardening, and canning, loved reading, attended Harbor Creek High School, and later attended Mercyhurst College in Erie, Pennsylvania.

She married Roger Herman Zierenberg Sr. in Erie in 1942. Roger left for military service soon after. Together they raised six children and built a large family legacy.

Her conversion to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints shaped her belief that family continues beyond this life. Her love of genealogy, temple work, ancestors, and living family became one of the defining parts of her life.

King and Reid family background

Juanita’s father was Lester William King, son of William Lester King and Emma Blanche Bailey. Her mother was Eunice Alwilda Reid, daughter of William Francis Reid and Elizabeth Nussbaumer. Juanita preserved detailed memories and family history about the King, Bailey, Reid, and Nussbaumer lines.

The longer notes include memories of her father’s childhood, General Electric work, family stories, Reid family visits in Silver Creek, cemetery visits, and the ancestral connections that helped awaken Juanita’s lifelong love of family history.