Earl Zarbin, journalist and author who pioneered water coverage in Arizona, dead at 95

Earl Zarbin, a longtime Arizona journalist, author and historian whose push for more rigorous coverage of water in the 1970s before it was one of Arizona's most critical issues, has died.

Zarbin died Saturday, March 9 at home in Gilbert while in hospice care, said his daughter, Denei Pace. He was 95.

Zarbin worked as a reporter at the Arizona Daily Star in Tucson and then as a reporter and editor for The Arizona Republic.

Considered an expert on Arizona water issues, Zarbin was the author of six books, including several that delved into the Salt River canals, Gila River Indian Reservation water rights, the Central Arizona Project, the building of the Roosevelt Dam and other key elements of Arizona water history.

His 1990 book "All the Time a Newspaper" chronicled the first 100 years of The Arizona Republic. Zarbin also served as a part-time representative for the Central Arizona Water Conservation District.

Born on January 3, 1929, in Chicago, Zarbin moved to Arizona in 1951 to attend the University of Arizona after serving in the U.S. Army. He worked as a librarian and then as a reporter at the Arizona Daily Star. He joined The Arizona Republic in March 1958, where he worked as an assistant city editor and night city editor.

In the mid-1970s, Zarbin began covering the water beat in addition to working as an assistant city editor. Zarbin recognized that water was becoming one of the desert state's most critical issues as population growth accelerated.

"Without water, you can't live. That's Number One," Zarbin told Republic opinion contributor Richard de Uriarte in a 2023 interview.

Earl Zarbin:How the state's loudest typing newspaper editor changed Arizona

Zarbin pushed in the 1970s to cover water issues more aggressively at a time when water was considered a boring and dry subject by journalists, de Uriarte said.

"It was Arizona in the 1970s, the state was growing and I wondered to myself where all the water was going to come from," Zarbin told de Uriarte. "Water issues were never covered indifferently. Finding solutions always has been the problem."

Zarbin was known as a meticulous, no-nonsense reporter and editor who did not suffer fools, de Uriarte said.

"He was very particular about getting facts right," de Uriate said.

As a copyeditor at The Republic, Zarbin handled the work of newsroom icons Jack West, Al Sitter and Don Bolles.

In 1985, Zarbin began interviewing retired and current employees for the 100th anniversary of The Republic. His reporting culminated in the book, "All the Time a Newspaper: The First 100 Years of The Arizona Republic."

Zarbin took early retirement from The Republic in 1988. In 1989, he began working part-time as a contract worker for the Central Arizona Water Conservation District, operator of the Central Arizona Project.

Initially, he served as a public relations writer and consultant. But in 1997, he began giving presentations and escorting visitors on tours of CAP facilities.

Zarbin's journalism skills carried over to his work at CAP, including his thirst for facts and details, a deep understanding of Arizona water issues, and an ability to make complicated water issues easy to understand, said Crystal Thompson, the communications manager at CAP.

"Earl was already educated about the system," Thompson said. "His knowledge of Arizona water supplies, and also his demeanor and ability to present to groups and make issues understandable were the things that made him qualified to do that role."

Zarbin gave presentations to groups around Maricopa County explaining the role that the 336-mile system plays in delivering water from the Colorado River to about 6 million people in Maricopa, Pinal and Pima counties and 12 tribes, equivalent to 80% of Arizona's population, she said. He spoke to many groups at a time when many people were new to Arizona and were unfamiliar with CAP's role.

"A lot of people in the service territory were new to Arizona. They were transient, and didn't understand the water infrastructure in our state," Thompson said. "And so the purpose for what he was doing was to help educate the public about the importance of our water supplies, and to better appreciate the extent to which Arizona went in order to secure a water future."

Although some journalism colleagues remembered Zarbin as being a bit on the gruff and crusty side, Thompson saw a softer side.

"Maybe it was the time in his life or maybe it was the dynamic between the two of us, but he was more like a grandfather figure to me. Not gruff, sort of the opposite," Thompson said.

Zarbin graduated from Riverside Military Academy in Gainesville, Georgia, in 1945. After working at a variety of unskilled jobs he enlisted for two years in the U.S. Army in 1948. After his discharge from the Army, Zarbin worked as a furniture mover. While hauling a 400-pound stove up three flights of steps, he felt pain in his chest, which later revealed pericarditis, a swelling and irritation near the heart. A doctor suggested he go to college.

Zarbin married Dorothy Zarbin in October 1973 and adopted her daughter, Denei Pace. They met through Parents Without Partners, Pace said.

Pace recalled praying that her mother would find her a daddy.

"When I was 13 years old my prayers were finally answered. My mother met and married the most wonderful man. Shortly thereafter, when I turned 14, he adopted me," Pace wrote on Facebook. "He has been the best daddy in the whole world!"

Zarbin lived for 47 years in south Phoenix, where he and his late wife, Dorothy, grew vegetables and planted fig peach, apricot, lemon, blood orange and persimmon trees.

Zarbin had five children from a previous marriage. He is survived by daughters Cathryn (Bill) Bauer; Elizabeth Claire; Denei (Milt) Pace; stepdaughter Shelley (Raymond) Christensen and many grand and great-grandchildren.