Hugh Harmer van Zelm, Jr., age 86,of Murfreesboro, TN, passed away on March 1, 2020. He was born in Larchmont, NY, to the late Hugh Harmer van Zelm, Sr., and Constance Marguerite Powell van Zelm.

Hugh is survived by his wife, Sheila Porterfield van Zelm; daughters, Cynthia Antoinette van Zelm and husband Christopher James Kennedy and Antoinette Gray van Zelm and husband Lynn Albert Nelson; grandchildren, Nathan Lynn Nelson and Elizabeth Constance Nelson; sister, Constance Lank and husband Alden Lank; and nieces, Elizabeth, Heather, and Linda Lank.

Hugh grew up in Scarsdale, N.Y. After graduating from Scarsdale High School, he attended the Lawrenceville School and graduated from Middlebury College with a bachelor's degree in economics in 1956. Soon after graduation, Hugh was drafted into the Army and spent two years at Fort Eustis in Newport News, Virginia. Pursuing his love of travel, he worked for the former Trans World Airlines (TWA) in New York City. In 1962, Hugh joined the Sprague Electric Company, where he worked in industrial relations for 31 years while living in Visalia, CA, Winter Park, FL, Williamstown, MA, and Harvard, MA. He earned a master's degree in business from Rollins College. In 1993, Hugh and Sheila retired to Wilmington, NC, to live near the ocean that they loved. In retirement, Hugh volunteered for the Seaman's Center and the Friends of New Hanover County Public Library. He was an active member of Carolina Beach Presbyterian Church. Hugh and Sheila moved to Murfreesboro, TN, in 2019 to live near family.

A joyful person who never met a stranger, Hugh had a wonderful sense of humor and an inquisitive mind. An avid sports fan, he also loved to read and do word puzzles. His family would like to thank the caregivers in NC and TN who assisted him as the effects of vascular dementia progressed. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Hugh's name to support scholarships at Middlebury College, 700 Exchange St., Middlebury, VT, 05753, or to support the Seamen's Center, P.O. Box 486, Wilmington, NC, 28402.

A Celebration of Life will be held at First Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Murfreesboro at 4 p.m. on Thursday, March 5 with Reverend Chris Warren officiating.