James Flynn "Zeke" Unangst, 49 - Big-Hearted restaurateur (10/24/05)
Louisiana Lou
Big-Hearted Proprietor
Submitted: N.O.V.A. November 2005
Source: Times Picayune 10-24-2005
Like Archie and Angela at the top of the New Orleans alphabet, you
didn't need a last name to identify the character at the bottom of the
alphabet.
Zeke.
The big-hearted, mischievous proprietor of Zeke's Restaurant on Metairie
Road -- a never-ending source of amusement for the city's golf,
racetrack, fishing, hunting, sports bar and restaurant crowd -- 6-foot-6
James Flynn "Zeke" Unangst surrounded himself with a cast of characters
Damon Runyon could not have dreamed up.
That same lineup of rogues who so adored his antics and zest for life
gathered at St. Catherine of Siena Church at Bonnabel Boulevard and
Metairie Road Monday to say goodbye to yet another Orleanian who made
this city so special.
"He touched the hearts of so many people, to have this happen, it
challenges your faith," said best pal Rick Kohnke in his eulogy. "He was
a big physical specimen, seemingly invincible, and to have this happen
at 49 years old, it seems like a bad dream."
Unangst, a Katrina evacuee, died in Houston of complications from a
staph infection following gall bladder surgery.
Famed for singing David Allan Coe's "You Never Even Called Me by My
Name" to the customers at his seafood restaurant, the generous,
passionate Irish-German was described by many as "a big goofy guy," but
a guy who made people laugh and smile and put them at ease, said Kohnke.
That ethnic combination, he suggested, "may have been the key to
figuring out why Zeke was Zeke. His German tendencies were structure and
routine but his Irish side allowed him to open up and sing loud and often."
Not to mention the reputation of those two nationalities for their
appreciation of beer and partying.
Louisiana State University Basketball Coach John Brady drove in for the
services. There was a large purple and gold floral arrangement on the
casket, along with pictures of friends and good times. Unangst went to
Final Fours, World Series, the Kentucky Derby, and Saints, LSU, Tulane,
Hornets and, going back, Jazz and Buccaneers games. He was a Fair
Grounds regular.
"A familiar scene was Zeke tearing up losing tickets," Kohnke said.
In Zeke's world were characters named Big Hammer, Mullet, Pee-Wee,
Rooster, Hambone, Dogbone, Doodle Bug, Packy and Whooshie. "I don't even
know their real names," said Kohnke.
You met Zeke and you loved him -- it was that simple.
"It's hard to imagine life without Zeke," said Jim Hunter, Zeke's
partner in fantasy football for years, and the owner of Southern Eagle,
the Budweiser distributorship here.
"He was a big adolescent kid with arrested development who was
impossible not to love," said Hunter's wife, Jeanne. "It's very sad."
The walls of Zeke's Restaurant, which just reopened after the storm, are
adorned with photographs of him with pals such as Samford University
Basketball Coach Jimmy Tillette, Delgado Baseball Coach Joe Scheuermann,
and Mike Rodrigue of Acme Oyster House, with whom Zeke supported many
charity golf tournaments.
There's Archie Manning, there are all the Manning family jerseys, Zeke's
diploma from Delgado Community College Culinary Arts School and pennants
for many area high schools, including some that ain't dere no more, such
as St. Aloysius.
A Kennedy High School and University of Southwestern Louisiana graduate,
Zeke played defensive end for USL, where his position coach was none
other than the oft-maligned Carl Smith, offensive coordinator for
ex-Saints Coach Jim Mora.
He came home for Mardi Gras one year and went to work with his brothers
Dickie and Joey and Carl Huling at Fat Harry's on St. Charles Avenue
near Napoleon. He also spent time at 4141 on St. Charles, Franky and
Johnny's on Arabella Street and the West End Cafe. He learned his
crawfish recipe from Junior Morrealle at Franky and Johnny's.
Like a lot of other bar and restaurant owners, he enjoyed patronizing
his colleagues' establishments. At F&M Patio Bar one night, he fell in
love with the David Allan Coe song and it became his signature song --
not that he could sing. But it didn't matter and the customers loved it.
At least that's what he would say of the song that has been labeled the
perfect country song because it mentions mama, trains, pickup trucks,
prison and getting drunk. It's also one of the great singalong songs of
all time.
"There's an old saying that in order to enjoy the flavor of life, take
big bites," said longtime friend and employee Dennis Fitzgerald. "You
talk about a guy who took really big bites out of life -- that was Zeke."
Darren Smith, known as "Chef Smitty," had been with Zeke through many of
his stops for 21 years. "He was like my brother," said Smith, who was
with him in Houston at the end.
Unangst never went to Tulane University a day in his life, but by
special double-secret dispensation, he was initiated into Delta Kappa
Epsilon fraternity, and known as "Zeke the Deke."
He was also very proud of having ridden in the Rex parade as a
substitute rider and for being an honorary member of the Karnak Galactic
Racing Stable. On one wall of his restaurant there's a letter from
ex-LSU Coach Nick Saban, thanking him for hosting the entire Tiger
football team when they played in the Nokia Sugar Bowl in 2002.
He grew up in the same Gentilly neighborhood as Isidore Newman School
Softball Coach Jan Ezzell. About four years ago, their paths crossed,
they started dating and they began a close relationship. At the
services, Kohnke looked at Ezzell and said, "Jan, you brought incredible
happiness into Zeke's life."
In a city that has witnessed the premature deaths of many beloved public
figures, including Wally Pontiff Jr., Frank Mackel and Butch Duhe, it's
never easy.
Officiating at the ceremony, the Rev. John Patrick Finn, pastor of St.
James Major Church in Gentilly, a family friend, urged mourners to
"please do not say 'goodbye' to Zeke, but 'until we meet again.' "
The funeral procession, including Zeke's mom, Shirley, proceeded down
the aisle to the strains of that famed Catholic religious hymn "When
Irish Eyes Are Smiling."
And they wound up back at Zeke's Restaurant, where "You Never Even
Called Me By My Name" was played for hours.
------------------------------------------
James Flynn "Zeke" Unangst
James Flynn ""Zeke'' Unangst, proprietor of Zeke's Restaurant in
Metairie, LA, on October 13, 2005 at Memorial Hospital in Houston, TX.
Survived by his companion Jan G. Ezzell. Beloved son of Shirley Flynn
Unangst and the late Clement W. Unangst. Brother of Patricia Darlene
Unangst, Richard Daniel Unangst and Joseph Clement Unangst. Uncle of
Scott Richard Unangst. Aged 49 years. A graduate of Delgado's Culinary
Arts School. A native and lifelong resident of New Orleans. The
relatives and friends of the family and patrons of the restaurant are
invited to the Funeral Mass on Monday, October 17, 2005 at 1:00 p.m. at
St. Catherine of Siena's Catholic Church, 105 Bonnabel Blvd. at Metairie
Rd. Interment in St. Patrick #3 Cemetery. Visitation on Monday, October
17, 2005 from 11:00 a.m. until funeral time. Rosary service at 12:30
a.m. Family prefers donatins to St. Michael's Speical School, 1522
Chippewa St., New Orleans, LA. Funeral arrangements by Leitz-Eagan
Funeral Home.
Published in The Times-Picayune from 10/14/2005 - 10/16/2005.
http://www.legacy.com/nola/LegacySubPage2.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonId=15377440