Alumni Obituary – Carroll L. Zahorsky

Carroll L. Zahorsky (CC’59), MD, 82, died June 9, 2022 in Menorah Hospital, Leawood, Kansas. Graveside services were held at 11:00 AM Monday, June 20, 2022 at Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens, K.C., KS. The family is asking for no flowers. Instead, please make a donation in Carroll’s name to the Cancer Research Institute.

He was born on July 10, 1939 as the seventh son of David Fred Zahorsky and Edith Elizabeth (McCoy) Zahorsky on an Oklahoma farm near Hopeton, Oklahoma. His family included eight boys and one girl. His parents lived through the Great Depression and the Dust Bowls of the 1930s and managed through hard work and determination to save their farm and keep the family intact. His parents taught Carroll and his siblings to serve God, to serve others, and to serve their country. Hard work and service was an ethic instilled in Carroll at an early age. Throughout his adolescent and teen years he worked long hours on the farm and the family custom wheat harvesting business. He was a talented basketball and baseball player and went to Central College in McPherson, Kansas on a scholarship. He excelled in basketball while at Central College and continued to play at Northwestern Oklahoma State University where he received his Bachelor of Science degree

He was admitted to the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine from which he graduated in 1965. He was accepted into the coveted internship and residency program at Kansas City Missouri General Hospital under the training of Dr. Fred McCoy. He specialized in cosmetic plastic and reconstructive surgery. During this time, he developed a new procedure for operating on children with cleft palate problems. He developed this procedure which required being ambidextrous and performing surgery with both hands. He developed the skill of operating with both hands because he had broken his operating hand in a motorcycle accident and had to train himself to operate with his left hand. After his residency, in 1968 Dr. Z opened a cosmetic plastic and reconstructive surgery office in Kansas City, maintaining a busy and successful surgery practice until his retirement in 2012. During the earlier years of his medical practice, he was a frequent medical speaker on local radio and television programs, challenging the medical community to improve patient care and practices.

During another period of his practice Dr. Z volunteered in nursing homes, helping the elderly with their medical needs, including cutting the toe nails and caring for their feet when it was difficult for them to bend down and provide their own care. He was passionate about developing better medical procedures that would benefit his patients. For example, in the Kansas City medical community he advocated against unnecessary mastectomies for women with breast cancer. His advocacy for performing mastectomies after other options had been explored instead of being the first form of treatment, has now been adopted by the medical community.

From 1966 to 1973 Carroll actively served in the 190th Tactical Reconnaissance Group of the Kansas Air National Guard as a Aerospace Medicine Physician, obtaining the rank of Captain. He was on inactive duty in the Air National Guard Retired Reserve from 1973 until his retirement in 1987.

Additionally, Carroll was a dreamer who was always setting new and larger goals. He never hesitated to involve himself in businesses. He bought a ranch south of Kansas City and pursued the development of a new wood palette process. He developed surgery drains, and Dr. Z conceived the idea for a holistic health clinic that was ahead of its time. For a number of years he operated the Zahorsky Institute which was an effort to combine surgery, nutrition, chiropractic care, beauty services, and a health spa into one facility. He spent time in Bosnia volunteering his surgical services, and in conjunction with the International Year Of the Woman he created and held in the Kansas City area a consortium for women to facilitate opportunities for them to have fuller lives. He was also a prolific writer. He wrote several books, and in the last years of his life he was preparing materials that would be the foundation material for a speaking tour about the role of God in our lives.

Risk taking was part of Carroll’s DNA. He enjoyed skydiving, dirt biking, skiing, and fast cars of which he owned several, including a Lamborghini, Porsches, Shelby 500 Mustang, Corvettes, and a 1939 touring Rolls-Royce.

Carroll is survived by his son, David Carroll Zahorsky and wife, Tammy, and three sons, Jason, Jacob, and Joshua; his son, Michael Dane Zahorsky and wife, Melissa; and his son, Grant Clark Zahorsky; his only sister, Marlene Kay McLean and husband, Perry; his younger brother, Stanley (Stan) N. Zahorsky and wife, Jan; his sister-in-law, Cordelia Zahorsky; and numerous nieces and nephews.

He is preceded in death by his parents, David Fred and Edith Elizabeth Zahorsky; his brother, Delbert (Del) Zahorsky and wife, Barbi; his brother, Donald (Don) Zahorsky and wife, Pril; his brother, Roger Zahorsky; his brother, David Zahorsky, Jr.; his brother, James Zahorsky; and his brother, Darrell Zahorsky and wife, Maritta.

ABOUT CENTRAL CHRISTIAN COLLEGE OF KANSAS

Central Christian College of Kansas is a regionally accredited institution offering undergraduate and graduate-level programs. Central strives to offer Christ-centered education for the whole person – heart, mind, soul, and strength. Its history dates back to 1884, and it is located in the friendly town of McPherson, Kansas. Central is a strategically small college that offers over forty areas of residential study and a thriving online program for non-traditional students. To learn more about Central go to centralchristian.edu/about. Visit the Foundation of Central Christian College to see what projects and events are coming up.