SSMMA is saddened to hear of the recent passing of former Dixmoor Mayor “Deacon” Zeb Lollis Sr. We extend condolences to his family, friends and the Village of Dixmoor. Private services were held with a
livestream feed this week at W.W. Holt Funeral Home in Harvey. Zeb Lollis became the first black mayor of Dixmoor in May of 1988. He was selected by the Board of Trustees to fill the office left vacant by the suicide of Kenneth Fisher. Mayor Lollis chose not to seek a full term in the following year’s election.
His grandson, John Lewis, paid him the following tribute on Facebook last Father’s Day:
“Happy Father’s Day to my World War II United States Army Vet Hero, the former railroad worker, the coal miner, the firefighter, the carpenter, the concrete master, the bricklayer, the sportsmen, the semi-truck driver, the former Village of Dixmoor Trustee, the former Library Trustee for the Village of Dixmoor, the former first black mayor of Dixmoor Illinois, the father, the uncle, the brother, the former United Way Chairman, businessman, self-made man, a real-estate tycoon, and patriarch of our family… My grandfather…. Zeb Lollis, Sr.!”