Obituary of Donald Lee Zimmer

DONALD LEE ZIMMER passed away peacefully on May 23, 2018 at the Midland General Hospital with his grandson, Jason Zimmer, by his side.

Donald was predeceased by his wife Iola Zimmer, his sister Joyce Easton, his stepson Robert Hughes and his first wife Sheila Graham.  Dad is survived by his children; Fred Zimmer (Nancy), Donna Burke, Steven Hughes (Mona), David Zimmer and Rick Hughes.  He is also survived by seven grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren as well as numerous nieces and nephews.

Dad was born on June 14, 1931 in Edmonton, Alberta and later moved to Armstrong, Ontario with his parents and his sister Joyce.  One of Dad’s favourite childhood memories was of his dog, a husky named Wimpy, leaping out of the snow in the mornings to follow Dad on his paper route.  That memory always made Dad smile.

For four years in the 1940’s Dad was a student at St. Paul’s College, a boarding school located in Winnipeg, Manitoba.   After graduation Dad went to work for the CN railroad and was stationed in the Northern Ontario communities of Capreol and Hornepayne.  It was during this time that Dad met and married Sheila Graham and they had three children over the next six years.

In 1960 Dad moved the family closer to Toronto and began his career in the automobile industry. Initially, he worked in the service department of a car dealership and then he moved on to become an insurance adjuster for Zurich Insurance.  He made many friends during his career and truly enjoyed time spent fishing with the guys or just getting together for an evening out.

One of the highlights of Dad’s life was his trip to Germany in 2001 with a small group including his sister Joyce and his daughter Donna.  It was a wonderful experience and Dad got to see the many places that he had only read about during his genealogical research. 

Dad met and married Iola Hughes in 1976 and they had a good life together until her passing in 2003.  After Iola’s passing Dad slowed down quite a bit and became more solitary.  Over time Dad developed health problems including Alzheimer’s disease.  In spite of his health challenges Dad remained in his own home for many years with support from his family members and the VON team that visited daily.

We would like to thank the many people who helped Dad during his last few years; Tess Pangilinan for her loving care of Dad up to June 2017, the Scarborough VON team for their compassionate care and Dad’s family doctor, Dr. Faris Nazal.  Our thanks also go out to Dad’s good friend and fishing companion Jose Murillo for his ongoing support for so many years.   Very special thanks go out to Jason and Kerry Zimmer for staying with Dad during his last days.  You are all appreciated more than we can express.  

In Lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Canadian Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/14272 or to the Ontario Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse (ONPEA) www.elderabuseontario.com