to change parties in 1986, but ultimately never made the switch. Zorinsky served as chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere Affairs, in which position he advocated for financial and military assistance to the new Sandinista National Liberation Front regime in Nicaragua in 1979. Zorinsky died after suffering a heart attack at the 1987 Omaha Press Club gridiron show, shortly after performing a song and dance routine. After his death, one of the largest man-made lakes in Nebraska was named after him: Ed Zorinsky Lake and the surrounding Zorinsky Lake Park are located in the city of Omaha. The Edward Zorinsky Federal Building in Omaha is also named in his honor. See also List of Jewish members of the United States Congress List of United States Congress members who died in office (1950–99) References External links 1928 births 1987 deaths Mayors of Omaha, Nebraska Nebraska Democrats University of Minnesota alumni Creighton University alumni University of Nebraska alumni Harvard University alumni American people of Russian-Jewish descent Jews and Judaism in Omaha, Nebraska Jewish United States senators Jewish mayors of places in the United States Nebraska Republicans Democratic Party United States senators from Nebraska Jewish American military personnel United States Army reservists 20th-century American politicians Burials at Beth El Cemetery (Ralston, Nebraska) Jewish American people in Nebraska politics Omaha Central High School alumni 20th-century American Jews