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Go in peace, and rest in peace.
Farewell to Zanon Proshevsky
By his sons Daniel and Roni,
with great respect and gratitude
Zanon Proshevsky was born in Warsaw, Poland on May
14, 1924. When he was 15, the SecondWorldWar broke
out and the Nazis occupied Poland. His parents’ home
was burned to the ground, and he was twice locked up in
the notorious Pawiak prison. His mother risked her own
life to save him from certain death.
When he was 18, he enlisted in the Polish Navy and served
as an officer with the rank of major on a destroyer in the
port of Gdynia, where he met Lilly, whom he married in
1948. In 1954 their son Daniel was born, and Daniel’s
brother Roni was born in 1956.
In 1959, Zanon immigrated to Israel with his wife, her parents,
and the two boys, and they all settled in Haifa. Zanon began
work for ZIM, initially deputizing for vacationing seamen.
Soon he went to
sea as an Fourth
Engineer aboard
the Ashdod.
He sailed for
many years on
the West Africa
line, onboard the
Shikma, Eshel and
Alon, and later sailed to the shores of Europe and America
on the Tilia, Vered, and Rakefet. He visited many countries
many times over, and saw the whole world. On many
occasions his wife and children joined him on voyages,
and Zanon advanced to the rank of Senior First Officer.
Zanon was a tall, strong man, a dedicated worker and
an excellent professional in every field. He was loved by
his fellow crewmen and trusted by his captains, partly
because he knew well how to deal with drunken sailors,
and with other discipline problems. Zanon worked at sea
for 30 years, and when he reached the age of 65, after 47
years at sea (including military service), he disembarked
from his last ship, the Rakefet, and retired.
We would like to note that he loved Israel very much, and
ZIM in particular. He felt that he and his whole family
owed ZIM a debt of gratitude for enabling him to earn
an honest wage and feed six mouths when he arrived
penniless at the Kiryat Haim transit camp. Zanon spoke
five languages: Polish, German, Russian, English, and
Hebrew. His wife Lilly was a homemaker and their son
Daniel worked as a civilian in the Israeli Navy. Daniel is
now a disabled veteran as a result of injuries sustained
during the Yom Kippur War. His son Roni is a graduate
of the Marine Officers’ School in Acre and served in the
Israeli Navy as a chief machinist on patrol boats. Roni
currently teaches physical education and has a master’s
degree in education.
During his many voyages, Zanon liked to fish and cook the
fish he had caught, as well as to photograph the beautiful
places that he visited. When he retired, he continued with
these hobbies, and he traveled around Israel and cared for
his son. He lived a modest life in his home in Bat Galim.
In 2013, after 65 years of marriage, his wife Lilly passed
away after an illness, and Zanon also suffered from cancer,
which worsened despite an operation. In April 2014, he
was hospitalized due to the seriousness of his illness. Zanon
remained lucid and independent, although he knew that
the end was near. On the evening before his passing, he
told his son Roni in Polish, “Be quiet, I want to rest.” The
next day, he passed away in the Italian Hospital at the age
of 90 years and three months, as his son Roni held his
hand and kissed his forehead. He was buried on Tuesday,
August 15, next to his wife Lilly.
Go in peace, and rest in peace.
In Memor iam
