Horst H. Zerber, age 86 , of The Villages Florida, died May 2 4 , 202 2 , after a short illness.

Born A pril 30 , 1936, in Kublitz , Germany , the Son of Wilhelm and Gertrude Zerber , he grew up in Germany during the very difficult times of WWII and grew up poor and singing for food . At 14 he left home to pursue a culinary career because he knew he would never go hungry.  He studied at a hotel in Germany for 5 years and then was offered an apprenticeship in the United States and saw this as an opportunity of a lifetime. So off he went to America with nickel in his pocket not knowing a word of English.  He eventually went to work at the Mo-No-Pole Restaurant where he became "Smitten" with the boss's daughter and eventually married his sweetheart Judy , to whom he was married for 59 years until she passed in 2021 . Together they purchased the restaurant from their parents and op erated the very well-known restaurant in Plainville, CT for 45 years.

Surviving Horst are Kevin and Julie (son and daughter-in-law from California), Pamela and Kerry (daughter and daughter-in-law from Massachusetts), 3 g randchildren, Remy, Tristan and Scarlett from California and his dog Bella of Florida .

To meet Horst was to Love Horst.  His unwavering kind nature and sincerity made him a one-of-a-kind man (which is what his restaurant's name "Mo-No-Pole" means – one-of-a-kind) .   He touched so many people along his life's journey and they were forever changed.   He had a love of cooking and it showed.  He mastered every dish he made and left everyone wanting more.   He won many awards for his cooking throughout his career and even won an award at 80 and won 3 rd place in a pie baking contest at 86! If you didn't find Horst in the kitchen there's a good chance you'd find him on the g olf c ourse as he loved the game of golf.

Horst had a deep love of animals and specifically dogs.   In memory of Horst , donations can be made to the animal shelters in need – specifically the NewLifeForPaws.Org out of Aruba. His daughter Pam is involved first hand with that organization helping save all of the homeless dogs in Aruba by supplying food and also transport off the island to their " furever " homes in the US. Please Venmo any donations you wish to make in h is honor to this Venmo Account:  @KZMeagher1   If you cannot Venmo and would still like to donate, please get in touch with Pam or Kerry to arrange a donation Pzerber@gmail.com .