Joseph R. (Joe) Zimmerman

Joseph R. (Joe) Zimmerman, of Alpharetta, Georgia and formerly of Christiansburg Ohio, passed away on Friday, October 14, 2022 at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia surrounded by his family.  Joe is survived by his wife, Diane, his sons, Bryan Zimmerman and Steven (Grace) Ward and grandsons, Dylan and Levi.  He is also survived by his sister, Lois Group of Casstown, Ohio and brothers, Robert Zimmerman, also of Casstown, David (Kathy) Zimmerman of St. Paris, Ohio,  Larry (Brenda) Zimmerman of Marysville, Ohio, Jerry (Kim) Zimmerman of Christiansburg, Ohio, Lynn (Esin) Zimmerman of Madison, Minnesota and several nieces, nephews and cousins.  He was preceded in death by his grandparents, parents, sister-in-law, Arlene Zimmerman and nephew, Michael Group.

Joe was born April 13, 1957 in Piqua, Ohio.  He was the son of Ralph and Helen (Markley) Zimmerman of Christiansburg, Ohio.  He graduated from Graham Local High School, St. Paris, Ohio in 1975 and from Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio in 1979.  He majored in Marketing/Marketing Management, was a Member of the Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity and also was a member of the University Men’s Chorus.  He continued to stay very active in his fraternity for many years after graduation and also served on the Board of Directors of the University Alumni Association for several terms.  He also helped originate a scholarship for members of the Christiansburg and St. Paris, Ohio Fire Departments to honor his father who served as Fire Chief at Christiansburg, his mother who was in the department’s support auxiliary and his brother Dave who served as Fire Chief in St. Paris.  The Zimmerman/Markley scholarship is housed at the Bowling Green State University Fire School. 

Joe moved to Houston, Texas in 1981 where he met his wife, Diane.  They were married on August 3, 1985.  They moved to Alpharetta, Georgia in 1997.  He retired from Verizon Wireless in 2018 where he served as Associate Director of Carrier Alliances since 1997.  He was involved in the early years of wireless phone industry and traveled to secure regional rights for cell service.  Prior work included GTE Mobilnet and Great Southern Insurance Company. 

Joe was an active member of Sons of the American Revolution and participated in many of their activities and research projects.  He was also extremely involved in family and community genealogy and was truly the family “historian”.  That family history telling will be sadly missed because he loved family and all the family connections.  But his genealogy went far beyond family because he was also involved in many communities and also did searches for other families.  He gave of his time generously to help research various projects, especially where his relatives originally settled many years ago.  He was actively involved in Beavercreek, Ohio Historical Society where the small town of Zimmerman, Ohio once existed.  He has a display of Zimmerman family items at their location.  He also was a key historian for the Christiansburg community, his boyhood home, as well as many other communities. 

A Funeral Mass will be held at the St. Brigid Catholic Church, Johns Creek, Georgia on Monday, November 7, 2022 at 1:00 PM and at The United Methodist Church, Christiansburg, Ohio on Sunday, November 20, 2022.  Family will receive friends 1:30 PM – 3:00 PM with a Celebration of Life service beginning at 3:00 PM.  A family burial will be held at Casstown Cemetery, Casstown, Ohio at a later time.  Memorial contributions can be made to St. Brigid Catholic Church, 3400 Old Alabama Road, Johns Creek, GA 30022 or BGSU Foundation, Inc., 1851 N. Research Drive, Bowling Green, OH 43403.  (In the Memo: Zimmerman-Markley Community Service Award).

Condolences may be expressed to the family at www.bairdfuneralhome.com.