SCARBOROUGH – Joseph F. Ziepniewski passed away at the Maine Medical Center on May 18, 2025, from recent complications of multiple illnesses surrounded by his loving family. Joe was a joyful man who firmly believed that life was to be lived to the fullest. His passing opens a void in the lives of those who knew and loved him.

Joe was born in Elizabeth, N.J. in 1943 and reared in nearby Linden, N.J. His father, Joseph J., was a steamfitter by trade who worked at Merck’s in Rahway, N.J., and his mother, Ludmilla “Lottie” Latawiec Ziepniewski, was a librarian for the city of Linden. His parents left indelible imprints on their son. His father was a dedicated sportsman who never let his job interfere with deer hunting or fly fishing, imbuing his son with his own passions. The flies he tied some 70 years ago still survive but form only a small part of Joe’s prodigious legacy of hunting and fishing gear. His mother passed on her love for the written word to her son, which explains his vast collection of mystery novels and all manner of works on hunting, fishing, and the natural world more broadly.

Joe attended Linden Public Schools and then Rutgers University, graduating with a degree in sociology in 1964. He then entered the Air Force Reserve before pursuing graduate work in urban planning at Pace University, earning a master’s degree in 1968. A certified urban planner, he landed his first position at the Morristown, N.J., engineering firm of Edwards and Kelcey and then decamped to New Hampshire to work for the prominent planner, Hans Klunder in Hanover. Several years later he was on the move again, this time to Maine to accept the position of Deputy Director of the Greater Portland Council of Governments. He then moved to the planning department of Scarborough where he rose to Chief Planner, retiring after 25 years of service in 2008.

Outside the workplace, Joe was a fixture on field and stream. He learned to fly fish at his father’s knee and never lost his zeal for the sport in salt or fresh water, wading northern waters for striped bass, southern bays for snook and other species, and numerous streams from Maine to Labrador for trout. Each fall he’d go to New Brunswick, Canada to fish for Atlantic Salmon with his lifelong friend, Frank Hoefert.

After retirement he took great pleasure spending winter months in the Bahamas with his wife, Pauline, wading for bone fish. One of his favorite New England spots was Lakewood Camps in west central Maine, where he and his childhood friends (Bob Sawicki and Bruce Laurie) college classmates (Ed Hack and Travis Cronshey) spent a week or more at the start of the inland fishing season each year for nearly 40 years and where Joe would land trophy brook trout and landlocked salmon. The off-season found him hunting for dear and turkey in nearby fields and woodlands as well for ducks in his blind on a nearby marsh usually accompanied by Carroll “Denny” Denham and Marty Greeley. Faithful friends beyond marsh and woodland, Denny and Marty were always at the ready for Joe and Pauline no matter what.

Needless to add, along the way Joe accumulated a vast store of hunting and fishing equipment purchased online and in person from the name outfitters nearby whose clerks knew him as an amusing raconteur and savvy bargain hunter– not shy about pleading his case at the returns desk.

When not on the prowl for fish or game, Joe frequented Portland’s storied bars and eateries. A devotee of fine dining, he was a regular who would start his meals with dirty martinis, stirred not shaken and served extra cold. In lesser places in younger days he took to the dance floor, flailing away to the Stones and Beach Boys because he thought he could dance. Not everyone agreed but no one ever doubted his capacity for a good time.

Joe leaves behind his first spouse, Mary Beth Wilcox of Tiverton, R.I.; their daughters, Jennifer Ziepniewski Innes and her spouse, Robert Innes of San Francisco and their children, William, Alexandra, Clark, and Calvert; as well as Elizabeth Ziepniewski Logue and her spouse Kevin Logue and their children, James and Teagan of Scituate, Mass.

“Pop Pop,” as he was known to his grandchildren, made a point of ensuring continuity of the family’s fly fishing tradition by instructing William in the fine points of the sport and assuring that he’s properly armed with the best equipment. William is said to be a proficient and enthusiastic angler and likely to further sharpen his skills under the tutelage of Steve Straqualursi, “Strac”, a family friend who stepped in when Joe became incapacitated.

He also leaves Pauline Pinkos, his devoted spouse who, in his declining days, doubled as his caregiver, deftly guiding him though the thicket of tests, appointments, and consultations that kept him alive and comfortable longer than anyone thought possible. Joe’s mourners extend to his hunting and fishing buddies in and around Scarborough and old timers scattered about New England and California whose lives will never be quite the same.

There will be a funeral service on Monday, June 23, 11 a.m., at St. Pius X Church (Our Lady of Hope Parish) 492 Ocean Ave., Portland, with a celebration of life following in the church hall. Refreshments will be served.

The family encourages donations to the

Scarborough Land Trust, Ducks Unlimited, or the Atlantic Salmon Federation in Joe’s memory.