Obituary of Charles Walter Zimmerman

Charles Walter "Walt" Zimmerman, beloved husband, father, grandfather and friend passed away peacefully on this winter evening of December 5, 2024. Walt, also known by his email moniker, The Big Redbird, was born on July 12, 1944 in St. Louis, Missouri, the home of his cherished St. Louis Cardinals. The son of Charles and Patty Zimmerman, Walt was raised in Festus, Missouri, where he was a standout baseball and basketball player, Eagle Scout, and accomplished student. He graduated from Westminster College, which he attended on an ROTC and baseball scholarship, and went on to serve his country as a Captain in the US Army during the Vietnam War where he was awarded the Bronze Star. He then embarked on a long and successful career as perhaps the greatest industrial roofing and siding salesman of all time, eating lots of fast food and making friends across the country that he kept for life.

The mayor of every room he walked into, Walt was quick with a joke, loved a good story, and was the master of useless trivia about movies, books and musicals. He especially enjoyed torturing his many children every year by singing School Days at the top of his lungs at 6am on the first day of school. As a co-founder of the Bernardsville, NJ Little League, Walt coached the intrepid Corrugated Cardinals, noted worldwide for the left fielder who ate bags full of Snickers in the outfield during every game. A great competitor, be it gin rummy with his mother-in-law or Monopoly (he was always the shoe) with his kids, he reveled in talking trash, winning, and dancing with glee. Aside from his family, to whom he was devoted, there was nothing Walt loved more than playing 36 holes at Baltusrol on a sunny summer day, preferably, but never actually, under par.

His beloved wife, Jane, for whom he cared with extraordinary love and dedication, preceded him in death in the fall of 2016. Walt is survived by his seven children: Maura, Erik (Kelly), Beth (Edings), Tom (Maureen), Jim, Dan (Stephanie) and John (Lara), ten beautiful grandchildren, his sister Alice (Jack) and his ever-loyal Saydee the Dog.

A Celebration of Life service will be held on January 25, 2025 at the Basking Ridge Presbyterian Church at 1pm, followed by a reception at Baltusrol Golf Course. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Walt's name to The Adirondack Scholarship Foundation.