ICBO's Gene Zeller leaves many memories and a legacy of professionalism.

by Nick Reiher

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If there were certifications for being a great boss, friend and mentor, Gene Zeller would have dozens more to add to his resume. Family, friends and co-workers, even those who hadn't seen him in 20 years, felt the pain when they heard Zeller — the energetic, always genial pillar of the legacy International Conference of Building Officials (ICBO) — died April 4 at age 78. "He was one of the most kind, gentle people to work in the code industry," said architect/consultant Jim Sealy, Chairman of the National Institute of Building Sciences Board of Directors. "If I had to name them, I can't think of another person who would be in the same league as Gene Zeller. He had a vast knowledge of the codes as well as the design and construction industries. The code industry lost a true friend, and we will miss him." Originally from northern Minnesota, Zeller and his family moved to California where he attended college and spent his entire career. He was a longtime and much-revered figure in ICBO, including serving as its board chairman in 1990-91 and on the ICC Board of Directors from 1995-96. Even in retirement, he served on the board of Underwriters Laboratories (UL) until 2010. Before retiring to northern Washington state in 2003, Zeller served for 26 years with the city of Long Beach, Calif., the last decade or so as its Director of Planning and Building. Prior to his time as director, he was the city's Superintendent of Building and Safety. Zeller made his mark in Long Beach, both in the industry and with ICBO, said Chuck Ramani, P.E., C.B.O., President of the ICC's International Accreditation Service (IAS). Zeller was one of the first structural engineers to become chairman of the ICBO board of directors, Ramani said, and one of the first building officials to be elevated to the position of director of planning in a big city like Long Beach — and with good reason. "Gene was very passionate about seismic retrofitting of structures, and the initial work he did in the 1990s helped mega cities like Los Angeles launch mandatory retrofit of 'soft structures,'" Ramani said. "Gene was very active in the development of the legacy Uniform Building Code and participated in many training programs of the model code groups." Long Beach Director of Planning and Building Robert Pasternoster knew he had a winner with Zeller when he hired him as the city's building official in 1977. With some 15 years previous experience in Los Angeles County, he said, Zeller was the person he needed to handle the building issues so he could focus on planning. "Gene was very likeable and very dependable," Pasternoster said. "I was able to delegate the building issues to him and not give them another thought. And he handled everything very smoothly." Fady Mattar, President, JAS Pacific Municipal Engineering and Consulting, wasn't surprised to hear that. He served under Zeller in Los Angeles County, and later, when Zeller was promoted to Director in Long Beach, he convinced Mattar to come out of retirement to be his building official. "It was one of the best times of my life," said Mattar of working with Zeller. "He was such a professional. I was always amazed at how he was able to deal with politicians. They would be after him to approve a project, and he would slowly, patiently explain to them why it would not work. And they listened." In fact, the city of Long Beach owes a lot to Gene Zeller, said Bob Guenther, who worked under him as building official there. When Zeller was hired in Long Beach, Guenther said, the city's downtown was deteriorating, as was the case in many cities at the beginning of the recession. Zeller set about hiring top building and code officials, plan checkers and inspectors, Guenther said. Zeller's professionalism and skills worked well with convincing Long Beach officials what they needed to turn the city around. "Gene's department rebuilt that city," said Guenther, now retired as ICC's Director of Mechanical Programs. Zeller also built a great relationship with his staff by backing them up with other department heads and city officials. Guenther remembered one time he caught an error in part of a project that already was built, and was going to take a lot of money to fix. The contractor and city officials didn't want to take the time and cost, Guenther said, "but Gene backed me up. And they did." Supporting his troops could be tough, especially when one of them was a woman in what had been a man's field, said Georgia Richmond. In fact, it was Zeller who talked her into leaving her job as a clerk with the city and training as a permit inspector when she needed more money to support her family. She recalled a time when Zeller might have been sorry he encouraged the career change. She was sitting with him during testimony on a lawsuit when she heard him say something wrong. "I pulled him aside and said, 'That's not right, what you said,'" she remembered. "He thought about it and went back to the table, and admitted to them his girl here had set him straight." Richmond said Zeller also wasn't too big to pitch in when they needed help at the counter. One time, she said, they were getting slammed, and would be staying hours past closing time. "He said, 'How can I help?' I said, 'What do you want to do?' He said, 'I can make copies.' So here's the director of the department making copies. "But under Gene, the office was just like one big family. In fact, we kept in touch after he retired. He and his wife Darlene and I went on a lot of trips together. He loved to travel. Ten days before he died, we were supposed to leave for a trip out east to Washington, D.C. "Gene is going to be missed by many." Zeller's widow Darlene said her husband knew for the past two years the end could come at any time. He had an abdominal aneurysm that was inoperable, she said. But that rarely stopped him from rambling about their ocean-view home in Sequim, Wash., and fly fishing with his son and brother, maybe even using the pole Guenther made for him when he retired. Darlene Zeller said they met as colleagues in Long Beach, and as others have said, he was wonderful to work with. She retired around the time he did, she said, and they moved near the foothills of the Olympic Mountains. She is thankful for all the well-wishes she has received from friends, many of whom have stayed in touch during their retirement. Among the many was Kathy Brown, who was Gene Zeller's secretary at Long Beach for years. She said Zeller's concern with his employees moved beyond what went on at the office. "He knew your family, their names, what they were up to," she said. "And his professionalism made him one of the tops in the field. I have never had another boss quite like that."