Gwendolyn Smith Zimmerman
Gwendolyn Smith Zimmerman
September 21st, 1917 — January 20th, 2012
Visitation:
1:00pm-2:00pm, Friday, January 27th, 2012
First Christian Church,
202 East 12th Street Emporia,
KS 66801
Map to this location
Funeral Service:
2:00pm, Friday, January 27th, 2012
First Christian Church,
202 East 12th Street Emporia,
KS 66801
Map to this location
Interment Service:
3:00pm, Friday, January 27th, 2012
Sacred Heart Catholic Cemetery,
East Logan Ave,
Emporia KS 66801
Map to this location
Obituary:
Gwendolyn Smith Zimmerman Obituary
Gwendolyn Smith Zimmerman, 94, passed away peacefully January 20, 2012 at the home of her daughter in Prairie Village. She had lived until recently at the Forum in Overland Park, having moved in 2007 from Emporia, her home for over 50 years. Born September 21, 1917 in Pawnee Rock, Kansas to Garfield and Mary Bruce Smith, Gwen was blessed with both intelligence (graduating at the top of her high school class) and beauty (named Miss Barton County of 1935). The granddaughter of Kansas pioneers; she was an accomplished, adventurous and resilient woman throughout her life. After graduating from Kansas State Teacher’s College in Emporia (now Emporia State University) in 1939, she taught high school English and speech in Sharon and Hoisington, Kansas, and later freshman English at the College of Emporia and Kansas State Teacher’s College where she also did graduate work in English literature.
She is survived by two daughters, Mary Zimmerman, Prairie Village and Deborah Zimmerman, Rosemount, MN; five grandchildren, Kathryn Halpert-Zimmerman, Overland Park, Benjamin Halpert (Shaye), St. Louise, MO; and Rebecca, Ariana and Daria Tahmooressi, Rosemount, MN; one great-grandchild, Ellis Marie Halpert, sister-in-law, Dorothy Smith, Newton, six nephews and two nieces. She was preceded in death by her husband, John J. Zimmerman, an infant daughter, Joanne Marie, her brother, Dr. Bruce G. Smith, and her sisters, Virginia Fry and Juanita Geil.
Gwen married John, her college sweetheart, on June 5, 1941 in Pawnee Rock and then moved with him to Bonner Springs. When John was drafted into the Army in 1942, Gwen worked for a time at the Sunflower Ordinance Plant in DeSoto. In 1943 she moved to Clinton, Iowa, where John was stationed, taking a job at the Clinton Herald where she eventually became a feature writer. After WWII, Gwen lived in Ypsilanti, Michigan and Colorado Springs, Colorado before moving to Emporia in 1954 when John joined the Emporia State faculty.
Gwen contributed much talent and energy to the Emporia community, supporting the arts and many ESU events and programs. In the late 1950’s she organized an Art Cinema Series at the Granada Theater, which brought many prominent international films to Emporia audiences. Her writing projects in later years included researching the life of Jenny Mitchell Kellogg, wife of ESU’s first president Lyman Beecher Kellogg and in 1881 the first woman attorney admitted to the Kansas bar. She also exhaustively researched and wrote a detailed history of the first 60 years of ESU. As a member of the First Christian Church in Emporia for 58 years, Gwen served on the church board, sang in the choir, and assumed numerous leadership and committee positions over the years. She was also a member of the Board of Directors of the Kansas Christian Home in Newton and a chapter advisor to Sigma Kappa sorority at ESU. She was active with the Girl Scouts of America, Lions Club Auxiliary, American Association of University Women, Emporia Area Retired Teachers Association, Church Women United, American Legion Auxiliary and Emporia Camera Club. In the 1970’s and 80’s she found yet another talent as a champion bowler.
The family extends heartfelt gratitude to Gwen’s kind, gentle and competent companions and caregivers for over four years, Sylvia Mitchell and Ruby Williams. They also thank the others who cared for Gwen during her recent illness, especially the nurses and staff of Kansas City Hospice and Palliative Care. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions to the John J.& Gwendolyn Smith Zimmerman Scholarship Fund at the Emporia State University Foundation, sent in care of Charter Funerals, 501 W. 6th Avenue, Emporia, Kansas. 66801.
Family will receive friends from 1:00 pm until service time. Funeral Services will be at the First Christian Church, 202 East 12th Street, Emporia, Kansas with Rev. Bob Colerick officiating on Friday, January 27, 2012 at 2:00 pm. Interment will be at Sacred Heart Catholic Cemetery in Emporia, Kansas.
Remembrances:
- Tuesday, January 24th, 2012
I am glad to have known Gwen Zimmerman. She was a true lady - dignified, intelligent, kind, and with such good manners. She was so interested in the world around her, and so supportive of Emporia and Emporia State University, and espeically the Social Sciences Department. We have missed her presence at the Zimmerman Lectures these past few years, and will miss her presence in the world. She and the entire Zimmerman family have established a legacy that emphasizes civil discourse, the importance of education, and the joy of learning. Thank you for that. You are all in my thoughts.
Ellen Hansen, Emporia, Kansas