Goodbye, Grandpa

Goodbye to my sweet grandpa, Warren "Zim" Zimmerman (March 13, 1922-January 3, 2019). There are so many wonderful things I could say about Grandpa. Here are a few details about his life:

– Purple Heart recipient after he was nearly killed when a bomb exploded 3 feet from him when he served in the Army in World War II. (Grandpa impacted many people's lives in a positive way, which wouldn't have been possible had Grandpa not survived! Thankfully, God knew what He was doing.)

– Husband to my grandma, Helen, for 68 years.

– Father of four, grandfather of 15, and great-grandfather of 34.

– Beloved teacher and elementary school principal.

– Volunteer: after he retired in 1984, he spent countless hours volunteering at schools, church and the hospital. He even volunteered in a prison, teaching English to Hispanic inmates. He taught another incarcerated man to read.

– Some of Grandpa's hobbies and interests were sports and fitness—he especially loved tennis—and he exercised all the way up until the end of his life to stay physically fit. He also loved traveling, gardening and photography. He also had quite a collection of shells.

– Three words I would use to describe Grandpa are: gentle, loving and kind. 

High school graduation (1940) and Army during WWII:

Marriage to my grandma, Helen (1950), and a picture around 2010:

My high school graduation (2002), and a picture from 2005:

Visits from Grandma and Grandpa in 2012 and 2016:

Celebrating Grandpa's 94th birthday in 2016:

The Zimmerman family—Grandma and Grandpa, my mom, and my uncles, Rick and Steve (my uncle Scott died in 1994 at age 38—he and Grandpa are now reunited). And my mom's last trip to Minnesota to visit her parents (October 2018):

I will miss Grandpa, but I am comforted knowing that he is in a much better place, and I will see him again! ❤️