Klaus Karl Hermann August Friedrich Zimmermann

1938 - 2021

Zimmermann, Klaus Karl Hermann August Friedrich

May 8, 1938 - September 27, 2021

Klaus Karl Hermann August Friedrich Zimmermann was born in Hannover, Germany on May 8, 1938, to his parents Horst and Alwine as the oldest son of two boys. During WWII and the post-war years, he lived outside the city and forever considered himself fortunate to have survived his country's devastation. He was raised a faithful Lutheran. In Hannover, he received his primary and secondary education and earned a degree in business while an apprentice at Telefunken.

Klaus started his career in the airline industry in 1960 when he moved to Cologne to work with Deutsche Lufthansa AG. There he met his wife Ulrike, an earlier Lufthansa hire, who he married in 1963. Their honeymoon was spent in Rio de Janeiro, a rarity for 22-year-old Germans and a highlight in their young lives working for Lufthansa. Together they had two sons born in Hannover. Klaus started with Lufthansa Cargo, "Der schlafende Riese" – the sleeping Giant (an industry with great perspective for the future) - and after his first overseas assignment in Ghana, he became cargo manager for the Netherlands. Success in Amsterdam rewarded him with the cargo manager position for Germany in Frankfurt. In 1982 the family left Germany for New York for him to become the cargo manager for North and Central America. Under his leadership, Lufthansa grew to be the largest air cargo carrier across the North Atlantic. His charisma and good business sense rewarded him posts in Los Angeles and Miami before retiring.

After a 35-year career, Klaus and Ulrike moved to Winston-Salem to be with their son and firstborn grandchild and to enjoy the good life in North Carolina. In his retirement, he worked for Modern Chevrolet and was a driver for Meals-on-Wheels. He took great pride in his 10-year presidency of the Triad German Club. He cared deeply for his German culture and traditions and brought his passion to the club to create a warm atmosphere. Klaus loved classical music and was a great admirer of Johann Sebastian Bach. He took great interest to watch his children's sports games and was himself an avid soccer and tennis player.

Klaus left us on September 27th, 2021 after a long battle with Parkinson's disease. Throughout his life, he provided a prosperous, adventurous life for his family. He will be missed by his wife Ulrike of 58 years and his children Matthias and Christoph. Matthias is married to Debbie and lives in Clemmons, North Carolina and they have two children, Alexander and Isabel. Christoph is married to Lynda and lives in Tucson, Arizona, and has four children, Konrad, Karsten, Lukas, and Emilia. He is survived by his brother Horst in Hannover. The family wishes to extend our deepest gratitude to Trellis Supportive Care who took such personal interest and loving care for the well-being of Klaus.

Donations may be made on his behalf to Trellis. We are celebrating Klaus on October 16, 2021, between 10-12 PM at Salem Funeral Service at 2951 Reynolda Road in Winston-Salem. Online condolences may be made at www.salemfh.com/.

"Auf Wiedersehen", dear Klaus, we will see you again!

Salem Funeral & Cremation Service