Obituary of Adam Hartley Zimmerman

<p><strong>ADAM HARTLEY ZIMMERMAN, OC FCA</strong></p> <p><strong>February 19, 1927 – October 19, 2016</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>Adam Zimmerman died peacefully and quickly at home on a sunny October morning. Family was by his side. He was the son of the first Adam Hartley Zimmerman and Ethelwyn Ballantyne Zimmerman, and had a younger sister Nancy Howard McCallum, all of whom predeceased him.</p> <p> </p> <p>Adam spent his early childhood in Niagara Falls, New York, but left home at an early age to attend Upper Canada College for two years before transferring to Ridley College where he acquired important skills like football and hockey, before graduating in 1944. He also managed several sports teams; the early signs of his outstanding entrepreneurship in later life.  He then attended the Royal Canadian Naval College in Victoria, class of 1946, and was commissioned a Lieutenant. His intellect blossomed thereafter at Trinity College, University of Toronto, where he obtained a degree in Philosophy in 1950. His loyalty to all of these institutions and to the friends he made continued throughout his life.</p> <p> </p> <p>After joining Clarkson Gordon, he became a Chartered Accountant before moving to Noranda Mines, where he rapidly moved through the executive ranks to become president and vice-chairman. On his watch the company diversified into the forest industry taking effective control of MacMillan Bloedel in what was at the time the largest corporate takeover in Canada’s history. Adam remained as chairman of Noranda Forest and vice chairman of the diversified parent company until his retirement in 1994. Throughout his business life he held 41 directorships in Canada, the United States and Europe, and as a result had friends all over the world.</p> <p> </p> <p>In 1951 Adam married Janet Digby Lewis and they had four children: Barbara (Stephen Flynn,) Thomas, Mary and Kate (John Kim,) all of whom were much loved by Adam and in whom he took great pride. Kate died tragically in 2000.</p> <p> </p> <p>Janet and Adam were divorced in 2005 and Janet died in 2012.</p> <p> </p> <p>Adam was a gentleman, with elegant posture and a wonderful laugh. He was courtly, but that did not mean he was not a straight talker. You always knew where you stood with Adam. He wrote a memoir entitled <em>Who’s in charge here anyway, </em>but it was always pretty clear who the boss was.</p> <p> </p> <p>He saw problems and set out to fix them: he led the fight to save the football program at U of T, he helped raise funds for the hospital in Collingwood, his second home; he fought ferociously and publicly against free trade with the United States on behalf of the 700 communities in Canada that at that time depended on forests, he was a founder of the University of Northern British Columbia, and a long time director of Sick Children’s Hospital.</p> <p> </p> <p>Most of all, Adam was a child of the Georgian Bay. He liked to say his first visit to the family cottage was in his mother’s womb and he enjoyed every summer there until 2014, messing about in boats, sailing, fixing mysterious things at his boathouse workbench, strewing the lakebed with boat propellers that always seemed to be attracted to rocks. The greatest joy of cottage life was spending time with his grandchildren, who made his heart burst with pride and love: Lewis, Julia and Tom Reis, and Janet Kim.</p> <p> </p> <p>So many loving people surrounded Adam with care and attention as he grew more frail: Lourdes Cordiero, Amelia Marques, and from Integracare Romen Gabito, Katrina Ulpindo, Alma Hodic, Lilibeth Roc and Donna Gaquit.</p> <p> </p> <p>In 2005 Adam married Barbara Leamen McDougall. It has been the happiest eleven years of her life.</p> <p>Jasper their woolly black dog keeps searching the house for Adam.</p> <p> </p> <p>A private family service will be held.  The family will receive friends and colleagues at the York Club, 135 St. George St, Toronto On Friday October 28^th, at 5 o’clock.</p> <p> </p> <p>Condolences, photographs and memories may be forwarded through www.humphreymilesnewbigging.com.</p>