It is with great love and heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Jimmy Leon Zaring, 83,  into the arms of his Heavenly Father. He transitioned peacefully on the evening of November 19, 2024, after a long and courageous battle with illness. Jimmy was born on March 23, 1941 in Santa Rosa, New Mexico to Alma and M.H. Zaring. The Zaring family later moved to Washington for a brief time, but Jimmy spent most of his formative years in Adrian, Texas and the greater Panhandle Plains, where he helped run the family farm.

Jimmy led a life full of love, adventure, and purpose.  He married Sandra, the love of his life, in Clarendon, Texas on June 8, 1963, while they were both in college.  Upon graduating from North Texas State University, he began working at the Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife.  He subsequently dedicated the next 30 years of his life to teaching and coaching, driven by a deep passion for history and a profound commitment to shaping the lives of his students. Whether in the classroom or in the athletic arena, he worked tirelessly to inspire, mentor, and guide his students, fostering both their intellectual growth and athletic development. His career took him to several stops: Savoy, Stratford, Channing, Coppell, Phillips, and West Texas High in Stinnett, where he ultimately retired.  During his tenure in Channing, he worked nights and summers to earn his Masters in Education Administration from West Texas State University, and worked the family farm in Adrian.  

Though he was an avid sports enthusiast who enjoyed participating in, or supporting, a broad range of competitive athletics, he was most notably a well-known and respected basketball coach, whose exemplary skills earned him recognition from the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches for achieving over 500 varsity wins. He knew the importance of teaching his student athletes the “fundamentals” and as well as the detailed nuances within the greater game, enabling them to understand the underlying complexities which led them to victory. Jimmy was a student of the game, and a quick thinker who could out-strategize even the best coaches. Moreover, he loved his players, was a great motivator, and his players WANTED to win for him.  Of course, those who knew him, also knew that outside of basketball, he was the consummate outdoorsman who loved spending as much time as he could at the lake in search of his beloved Walleye, or hunting wild game of all sorts. He loved to return from his adventures with his bounty, to treat the family to one of his famous “fish fries” or cook up the perfectly tender deer steak.  Jimmy also smoked a mean brisket and ribs the old-school way, and enjoyed playing a variety of games with friends and family. After retirement, his favorite pastime was enjoying camping adventures with the RV club, alongside his beloved wife of 61 years, Sandra.  

Jimmy will be remembered for being a man of quiet faith, a loving husband, a dedicated family man whose children saw him as their superhero, a fun-loving granddaddy who was always up for a lake trip or round of dominoes with the kids, and a faithful brother, brother-in-law, and friend. He was a storyteller, and could spin a tale with a twinkle in his eye, that would leave everyone in stitches. He was a man of strength and integrity, mixed with a bit of good-natured orneriness, who had a big, broad smile to accompany his quick-witted sense of humor. He was a relatable, down to earth man and people were naturally drawn to his ease of presence. This relaxed and good-natured manner, however, was evenly matched with his demonstration of courage, faith, grit and determination, in his daily battles with the myriad of health concerns that besieged his life over the last 30 years. He will be forever loved and admired by those who knew him. 

Jimmy is survived by his dedicated and loving wife Sandra; his son, James Brian Zaring and wife Tara Zaring of Keller, Texas, and his daughter Trina Zaring Bush and husband Kevin Bush of Leesburg, GA; Grandchildren Ryan Zaring and wife Allissa of Providence Village, TX, Morgan Zaring Prisco and husband Anthony of Flower Mound, TX., Michael Zaring and wife Makayla of Fort Worth, TX., Lauren Zaring Thompson and husband Nile of Indianapolis, IN., Bajha Muse Larson and husband Kiley of Leesburg, GA., Haygan Muse of Atlanta, GA., Lindy Muse of Gainsville, GA, Michael Muse and wife Ashley of Burkburnett, TX., Mika Muse of Burkburnett, TX., Sister, Patty Zaring Bannister and husband, Don, of Port Isabel, TX.; Brother-in-law, Paul Jackson of Vega, Texas.  Jimmy is also blessed by the love of many great-grandchildren and nieces and nephews.  

He was preceded in death by his parents, M.H. Zaring, Jr. and Alma Zaring Pinnell, stepfather Roscoe Pinnell, and his sister, Myrna Zaring Jackson, of Vega, TX. 

A Celebration of Life service to honor Jimmy’s life and legacy will be held on Monday, December 2, 2024 at 11:00 a.m. Paramount Baptist Church in Amarillo, Texas. 

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the American Cancer Society

We will forever cherish the memories of Jimmy in our hearts.