Reader’s Digest
EVERYDAY HEROES
chicago^sun-times8 july/august 2019
His Crosses
to Bear
A carpenter’s memorials have appeared after
countless tragedies around the country.
This time, the tragedy struck very close to home.
By Andy Simmonscrosses—Stars of David and crescent
moons, too—to communities across
America grieving in the wake of vio-
lence, natural disasters, and other
catastrophes. He brought them to Para-
dise, California, after wildfires wiped
out most of the town; Pittsburgh,
where 11 worshippers were killed in
a synagogue; Sandy Hook, Connecti-
cut, when 26 children and staff were
gunned down in their school; and Las
Vegas, where 58 people died while en-
joying a music festival.
One place Zanis, 68, never expected
to plant his crosses was in his ownT
wenty years ago, 15 wooden
crosses appeared on a hill over-
looking Columbine High School,
in Littleton, Colorado. It was April 28,
1999, eight days after a pair of stu-
dents had shot and killed 12 of their
classmates and a teacher before kill-
ing themselves. At first, the crosses
seemed to be part miracle, part mys-
tery. Before long, their creator stepped
forward: Greg Zanis, a carpenter from
Sugar Grove, Illinois, who had driven
them nearly 1,000 miles to Colorado.
Since Columbine, Zanis has built
and delivered more than 26,