Willis Frank

Zimmerman, Jr

Amazing Husband,

Father, And Friend

Willis Frank Zimmerman, Jr, 68, of Sandy Hook, died at his home, May 21, after a three-year battle with cancer. He was born in Kansas City, Mo., September 25, 1942, the son of Esther Katherine and Willis Frank Zimmerman.

He was the husband of Carol Zimmerman for 37 years, and the father of four children: Katherine Hunt Anderson of Morrison, Colo., Kendall Elizabeth Zimmerman of Denver, Colo., and Andrew Kent Zimmerman of Sandy Hook. His fourth child, Willis Frank Zimmerman III, predeceased him. He is also survived by his brother, Kent Zimmerman, and his wife Paula and daughters of Port Townsend, Wash.; his mother-in-law, Virginia Peterson, who lived with him; son-in-law Mark Anderson and grandson Logan Frank of Morrison, Colo.; cousins, and nieces and nephews.

He lived on Lake Lotawana, Mo., as a child, before moving to Weston during high school. He graduated from Rollins College, Winter Park, Fla., with a degree in philosophy. Over the years, Mr Zimmerman was a product director for several marketing companies, including Glendinning Co., Garden Way, Marketing Corporation of America, and Marketing Drive Worldwide.

He was a kind-hearted and honest man. He had integrity. He was a truly amazing husband and father.

Mr Zimmerman was an avid hiker. There were few trails in Connecticut’s Taconic Mountains or New Hampshire’s White Mountains that he had not walked over the course of 40 years. He was a consummate director/producer of not-quite-award-winning slide shows, chronicling the lives of his many close friends. His dry sense of humor and extraordinary good nature touched all those around him.

His family would like to thank their friends and neighbors, Pastor Kathie Adams-Shepherd and the members of Trinity Episcopal Church; the doctors and nurses of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center who have treated Frank during the past three years; and the Vitas Hospice staff of Catherine Faulkner, RN, and Cecilia Thomas, CAN, who have helped the entire family during the past three weeks.

A funeral service will take place Friday, May 27, at 2:30 pm, at Trinity Episcopal Church, 36 Main Street, Newtown, followed by burial of Frank and his son Willis Frank III, in the Trinity Memorial Garden. A reception will follow in the church undercroft.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations are requested to Vitas Hospice Care, 99 Hawley Lane, Suite 1204, Stratford CT 06614 or Trinity Episcopal Church Memorial Fund, 36 Main Street, Newtown CT 06470.

The Newtown Bee        May 27, 2011