George Henry Zimmerman, age 91 of Kettering, passed away on January 1, 2014 at Bethany Village. George was the second son of David Henry and Dorothy Albright Zimmerman, born in Philadelphia, PA on October 25, 1922. His brother, David Albright Zimmerman, also predeceased him. The Zimmerman family moved to Flushing, Long Island where George attended elementary school at PSD 32 and Bayside High School. George received his BA in 1947 with a major in philosophy and a minor in religion and his MA in 1951 from Miami University after service in the 242nd Infantry, 42nd Infantry Rainbow Division. On completion of his military service George also studied at the Ohio State University, Harvard and the University of Washington. George served for twenty-five years as a mentor and teacher. He began as a vocal elementary teacher and then as a Supervisor of Music for the Dayton Public Schools from 1953-1978. He went on to teach Music education and served as a lecturer in American Music at the University of Dayton until retirement in 1994. He continued his adjunct teaching during the summers at the University of Washington and the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, WA. George committed much of his life to his passion for music, writing and producing. George spoke at the International Society of Music Education conference in Interlochen, Michigan in 1966 on “Music Education in the United States”. Among his many published articles are two edited collections of folk songs, “Start with a Song” and “Reflections” (Cooperative Recreation Service, Delaware, OH.) He also wrote “Seasons in Song”, a collection of original childrens songs for the holidays (Tamms-Witmark.) George will be remembered for all the young lives he mentored and influenced throughout his career. George was the creator and host of two weekly television series held at WLW-D in Dayton, OH. “Passport to Music” for eight years and “By George,” two thirteen week series, produced at Wright State University for WLW-D. This series received the Television Academy of Arts and Science Emmy in June of 1973. George was Director of the Dayton Liederkranz-Turner German Mens Chorus for 12 years and served his college fraternity, Pi Kappa Alpha, as National Music Director for fifteen years. He produced elementary school shows and state musicals from 1954-1978 and produced many stage operettas. When George moved to Florida in 1996, he created a lecture series for the Naples Philharmonic Center for the Arts. He presented ten lectures each year for six years for the popular series, “Our American Music Heritage.” George wrote the cookbook, “Everything Makes Me Think of Food,” published by Micro press in Bellevue, KY. This book was an expansion of his annual Christmas card to friends that contained his favorite recipes. He published a second edition of this cookbook while living in Florida, and it featured local favorites from the Naples area. George returned to Dayton in 2006 and took up residence at Bethany Village. He never gave up his writing and wrote stories in the Bethany monthly “Homesteader” from 2006-2009. He also served as editor during that time. Contributions may be made to The University of Dayton or Miami University Departments of Music.
Published in Dayton Daily News from Jan. 11 to Jan. 12, 2014