Eldri Guldan-Zahn

If you’re reading this, it means I’m gone. Please don’t grieve; the last thing I want is to cause anybody any pain. I have led an almost magical life, full of wonderful people and moments, but my time has come to an end. I passed away in my beautiful home on the pond at the Meadows in Tarpon Springs, Fla. on January 28, 2026. 

I was born on June 6, 1952, in Rhinelander, to Maryellen (Houg) and Malcolm Guldan Jr. I am the oldest of five children. I loved growing up there. I met my best friend, Dolly (Jaroski) Loduha, when we were three years old, and we’re still best friends. I loved school, and not many people had the same level of fun I had in high school with my friends. When I was a junior, my parents moved to Wausau. The second night there on a blind date, I met the love of my life, Steve Zahn. I was 16, and he was 17. Fifty-seven years later, we’re still together and very much in love. We had two daughters, and I stayed home until the youngest started school. Then, I went to work at Wausau Insurance and stayed there for 10 happy years. In 1988, an opportunity arose to purchase a business in Green Bay, and we seized it. We ran it for almost 30 years before selling and retiring.

In 2001, while I was “room grandma” for our granddaughter’s 2nd grade class, I met an 8-year-old boy who was in foster care, and his parental rights were being terminated. Steve and I became foster parents at almost 50. We decided to adopt him, and at the age of 9, he was ours. With him, we were given a second chance at parenthood, and it was absolutely wonderful. We became friends with a diverse group of new people and served as the Bay Port Athletic Booster Club for five years. I wish I could have kept track of how many quarts of Bay Port Chili I made. The help and support we received from other parents was phenomenal. The teachers we encountered in the Howard-Suamico School District went above and beyond, helping our son transition from special education to achieving straight A’s in 7th grade and being inducted into the National Honor Society as a senior, all while participating in three sports. We cannot thank them enough! There was never a prouder mother, watching him graduate from college with that gold cord around his neck, all the while being a starter in two sports all four years. 

In 2014, we did an adult adoption on our oldest granddaughter, Stephanie, and she completed our family. We attended her college graduation in 2016 from UWEC, exactly 100 years after my grandfather graduated from Eau Claire Normal School as a precursor to UWEC.

In May of 2017 a man walked into our business after we had met that morning with our accountant on making a plan to sell our business and retire and told us his uncle from Wausau wanted to buy it all — the land and buildings in the Howard Industrial Park, the equipment, and most importantly, would keep all our employees. Less than twelve weeks later, the sale was completed, and we headed to Florida to find a vacation home. In a few days, we found the community of our dreams, The Meadows, along with our beautiful home on the pond. Little did we know we would also find a new family. I would tell people that maybe I died of my 2015 cancer and now I was in heaven. For the next eight years, I had a perpetual smile on my face, even as I faced my own mortality; it still made me smile and feel loved and cherished. Thank you, my friends. I love you all.

I was preceded in death by my beloved grandparents, Alfred and Esther (Edwardson) Houg. I was lucky enough to have my grandma until I was 48, and I cherished every moment we had together. My other grandparents, Malcolm Sr. and Elizabeth (Scherer) Guldan also preceded me in death, along with my parents and my brothers, Joseph Guldan, and Malcolm (Buzz) Guldan III. In addition, I was preceded by my in-laws, Harold and Shirley (Hafeman) Zahn.

I am survived by my beloved husband, whom I affectionately referred to as Mr. Z, our children, Jennifer (Karl) Hansen, Katherine (Andy) Sickinger, Marshall (Michele Grzywa) Zahn, and Stephanie (Paul Balcita) Hansen. We have four much-loved grandchildren, Chelsea (Evan Ford) VanDenElzen, Olivia Held, Henry Held, and Bryson Zahn. Also surviving me is my precious sister, Tracy (William Vaughan) Guldan, sisters-in-law, and many cousins whom I cherish. 

I would like to thank my husband of almost 55 years. I have loved you since I met you, and that love will never die. I would also like to thank my beloved sister, Tracy. You have made my final journey bearable. You are my rock, and I am so proud of you and all you have accomplished.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the children’s department of the Rhinelander Library, where I first developed my love of reading. Back then, when I grew up, my aspiration was to be the children’s librarian there, or, if that didn’t work out, I wanted to be a professional popcorn saleswoman in front of Mel’s Trading Post. 

A memorial service will be held at Carlson Funeral Home in Rhinelander, at 1 p.m. on Friday, June 5. My ashes will be buried alongside my great-grandmother for whom I was named, Eldri Houg, at Forest Home Cemetery in Rhinelander.