John E. Zimmermann, II Obituary

John E. (Ted) Zimmermann, II died on July 10, 2008 at Newport Hospital after a brief illness. He was 86. He and his wife were longtime residents of Jamestown, RI.
Born and raised in Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, he graduated from Chestnut Hill Academy. He entered Williams College, but did not matriculate due to the oncoming World War 2. In May of 1942 he proposed and married the former Virginia Roberts (Bobbie) Glendinning also of Philadelphia. They were married for 58 years. She predeceased him in January of 2000 and is buried on Jamestown.
Following his marriage he volunteered into the US Naval Reserve in which he served mostly in the Pacific Theatre. He was honorably discharged in 1946 after 3 ½ years of service.
Mr. Zimmermann's business career covered three different fields of endeavor. He first joined Strawbridge & Clothier in Philadelphia where he served for 10 years leaving as House Ware's Buyer for the main store and its multiple branches.
In 1955 he was offered a position as House Ware's Buyer for the Broadway Stores in Los Angeles. He and his wife were offered a flight to L.A. to visit the stores, however, upon returning from that interesting offer he found an invitation from Young & Rubicam, Inc. of New York City to visit with them.
Upon that interview, he accepted their offer and served with that firm for 23 years as an Account Executive on a number of major companies. At 58 years of age he opted for early retirement and they moved permanently to Jamestown, RI.
Mr. Zimmermann's final business career was in real estate. He first served with Carey, Richmond and Viking in Newport but later switched to Meredith and Clarke, Inc. on Jamestown. He served with that firm until the age of 78 years when he retired formally.
Upon his retirement he did volunteer work at the Newport Hospital and did so for some 7 years.
He is survived by their two sons, John E. Zimmermann, II of Philadelphia and Robert P. Zimmermann of Jamestown; a brother, Richard Zimmermann of Saunderstown and Mystic, CT; a sister Maria Spears of CA; three grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Mr. Zimmermann was a longtime member and past Commodore of the Conanicut Yacht Club. In addition he was a past member of the Clambake Club as well as an active member of the Newport Reading Room and the Cottrell Pier Association. He was a contributing member of the Naval War College Foundation and the Newport Hospital Foundation.
A Memorial Service will be held at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Newport Hospital, 11 Friendship St., Newport, RI 02840, the Potter League for Animals, PO Box 412, Newport, RI 02840, the Jamestown Fire Dept., 50 Narragansett Ave., Jamestown, RI 02835 or the Jamestown EMS, PO Box 8, Jamestown, RI 02835.