Joe Zimmerman, 25 year resident of Lakeway, died on January 23rd in Houston, Texas at St. Luke’s Heart Institute from complications of a dissected ascending aortic aneurysm while on vacation in South Padre. He is survived by his three children; Michael, his partner Elliot, Julie, and Kimberly; brother Richard and extended family.
Joe was married for 52 years to his wife, Mary Ann, who passed away last March. Together, they lived in Alabama, Ohio, Tennessee, Belgium, and Minnesota before moving to Lakeway in 1985.
Joe began as a ceramic engineer developing new products in the lab, eventually leaving the lab to go into sales. He was undaunted when told that a particular piece could not be manufactured. Joe would go directly to the guys in the Lab to find out why or why not. One piece that he designed did not reach production until after he retired. While he was in international sales, long before computer programs like PowerPoint, Joe did not hesitate to create his own display boards to help with communicating across different languages.
With their family, Joe and Mary Ann lived and traveled together throughout Europe. In the last 10 years, with his wife, they visited many of the national parks and forests throughout the western United States and Canada. With his love of western novels, Joe particularly enjoyed experiencing things like seeing the buffalo herds and the Crazy Horse monument.
Joe and Mary Ann were keen bridge players. They played both party and duplicate bridge; he continued to enjoy bridge after her passing. He was an avid tennis player and has enjoyed restringing tennis rackets for fellow players since he was young.
Joe’s love of roses goes back to raising them competitively (and winning!) in Tennessee. He always had a rose bush or two wherever he lived, even helping his children plant roses in their own backyards.
Always with a joke or a tease (harassment factor he called it), a smile and a laugh was as natural to Joe as his love for his family. With a big heart, he touched all who knew him.
He also enjoyed fly fishing, be it in Lakeway on the boat, from a kayak, or while traveling with Mary Ann.
One of his loves was fly tying. He tied everything from “tried and true’flies, some with new designs, to ‘no-catch-em’s - as he called them - of his own design. He even made flies into some jewelry for his “three girls” (his wife and daughters).
In honor of his love of fishing and fly tying, in lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations be made in his honor to the Austin Fly Fishers. There are two programs that supported by Austin Fly Fishers that Joe often spoke about for memorial donations. The “Casting for Recovery Program” is a national breast cancer support and education program; the casting motions involved in fly fishing are good for physical rehabilitation. SKIFF is the other program available for donations. SKIFF is short for Soldiers’ Kids Involved in Fishing Fun” and gives the children of currently deployed solders the opportunity to go fishing. More information on the Austin Fly Fishers and these programs is available at: http://austinflyfishers.com/index.html
The Zimmerman children wish to thank everyone for their love and support.
A memorial service will be held from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, January 29, 2011 in the Magnolia Room at Weed-Corley-Fish Lake Travis, 411 Ranch Road 620 South.
Contributions can be sent to: Austin Fly Fishers, ATTN: Joe Zimmerman Memorial, PO Box 10504, Austin, TX 78766