William John Zimmerman

1920 - 2010

William John Zimmerman, 90, died peacefully Oct. 1 after a long and full life.
Born in 1920 in a hilltop farmhouse in Chester, he was the only child of Olga (Frietag) and William Zimmermann, both from Germany.
A love of working with his hands developed early. He was always working on something, mending furniture and farm implements and building toys and tools for himself and friends. He built his first kayak when he was fifteen, including hand-carved paddles. His direction in life changed after graduating from Chester High School in1938 when he was selected by the president of Mitchell College to be a member of the school¹s first class, and instead of farming he became an engineer. He met his future wife, Ruth Jacobs, when they worked at Pratt Reed in Deep River Connecticut, building gliders. She was from New York City, and Bill fell in love with her quiet smile and city polish, and she was attracted by his gentle demeanor and beautiful, well-kept hands.
Ruth told her daughters, ³Don¹t judge a man by his gifts, look at his hands.² As a radio operator on the USS Midway during World War II, his skilled fingers sent Morse code flying at a rapid rate, and a long-time hobby with short-wave radios was initiated.
Married in 1947, Bill studied engineering at the University of Connecticut. He built a cradle for their first daughter Kathy. Two more daughters came along, Susan and Karen, and he continued to carve and build, making desks, tables, built-in cupboards and shelves, decks and sheds.
Bill designed and built much of their first home and taught himself masonry to create a marble fireplace and granite chimney, and joinery for the curving staircase Banister. He also started his collection of early woodworking tools.
Furniture building was his deepest passion, and he used these tools to create highboys, beds and tables, all meticulously crafted and hand-finished. His hands were always at work, and his daughters grew up loving the smell of sawdust and believing he could fix anything. After graduating from UConn with a degree in Mechanical Engineering, the family relocated to Wapping, Connecticut.
A project engineer with Pratt & Whitney Aircraft, he taught his girls how to identify the planes on whose engines he had worked, and plane spotting became a family pastime. He travelled for his job and brought back a taste for Mexican food, cooking up enchiladas in suburban Connecticut and opening his daughters' minds to the idea of new flavors and worlds. He created a sweet and sour dressing that has become a family staple, and a pickled beet and herring salad that was an eagerly anticipated Christmas gift.
When his youngest daughter left home for college, Bill and Ruth moved to his family's farm in Chester and started another phase of their lives. Bill became a technology teacher at Brown Middle School and pursued his interest in a self-sustaining lifestyle.
A solar heater supplemented their hot water system, he kept chickens and a garden, and he created a grandfather clock with only hand tools. He began a home business, hand-forging hooks and wrought iron items, and hung his shingle as a licensed Mechanical Engineer. Bill and Ruth started Tumbling Hills Antiques, and the two of them spent many happy weekends travelling throughout New England and making new friends.
Bill's collection of old planes and woodworking tools continued to grow, neatly organized and labeled in his flowing cursive lettering. His custom-built furniture graces many homes in the Connecticut River Valley, but he also took the time to create family treasures, including a pencil bed for he and his Ruthie. He loved sharing his knowledge and did so in a gentle and encouraging way.
Bill passed on the joy of creating something with their own hands to all his daughters. His grandsons, Phil and Will, learned Morse code and knot tying at his hands, granddaughter Erin still makes his killer cornbread, and he loved to read Katherine's stories and encourage her writing.
Bill's interests were far-ranging, his enthusiasm was contagious, and there was always something new. He was a long-time fifer with the Chester Fife and Drum Corps, made homemade apple wine, set up a darkroom for experimental photography, grafted apple trees for the yard, and kept bees.
Some things were constant, however. He and Ruth continued to tease each other about their city girl and country boy ways, and he was always available to help with a project, patiently explain some detail about woodworking or mechanics, or drop what he was doing to give a daughter or grandchild a hand.
He was predeceased by his beloved Ruthie on March 2.
He leaves behind a wealth of skills and knowledge, three loving daughters, Kathy Eddy, Susan Robsky and Karen Zimmermann, sons-in-law Steve Robsky, Dan Eddy, and Dennis Smith, grandchildren Philip Smith and partner Stacy Roberts, Erin Smith, Katherine Robsky, Will Robsky and wife Sharon Robsky, Kymry Brooks and one great-grandchild, Philip Charles Smith IV.
The family wants to thank all the staff at the Beaumont, where Bill and Ruth made their last home, for the wonderful care and love they gave, and where Bill, once again, passed his knowledge on. A memorial service will be held at Deep River Baptist Church on Saturday, Oct. 9, at 11 a.m., followed by interment at Fountain Hill Cemetery. Swan Funeral Home is charge of arrangements. Donations may be made in Bill's honor to Friends of Sutton Library, 4 Uxbridge Road, Sutton, MA 01590.
Please sign the Guest Book at RememberingCT.us/middletownpress.