James Zimmerman

February 12, 1941 — March 8, 2022

James Edward Zimmerman, 81, of Fremont, died on Tuesday, March 8, 2022. He was born in Sidney, Ohio, February 12, 1941 to G. Clair and Pearl (Slaughterbeck) Zimmerman. He married Rosemarie Froelish April 26, 1979 in Houston, Texas.

Mr. Zimmerman was a local businessman and former president of the Swint-Reineck Do-it-Center.

He graduated from Ross High School in 1959; attended Bowling Green State University and graduated from the American Flyers Flight Academy in Ardmore, Oklahoma. He served in the U. S. Army Intelligence Corps as a paratrooper assigned to the 1 Special Forces Group Airborne in Southeast Asia from 1963 to 1966 and returned to Vietnam with Air America from 1966 thru 1969. He was a flight operations manager for Air America in Saigon, Nha Trang, and Da Nang Vietnam. After returning from Vietnam, Mr. Zimmerman was a flight instructor at Mineral Wells, Texas from 1969 to 1973 where he taught U.S. Army helicopter pilots to fly fixed wing aircraft. From 1973 to 1980 he was a captain for Metro Airlines in Houston, Texas. In 1980 Mr. Zimmerman returned to Fremont to become a partner in Swint-Reineck with his two younger brothers.

Surviving is his wife, Rosemarie; sons Oliver of Dallas, Texas and Daniel of Switzerland; daughter Diana (Rene) Shoukier of Darmstadt, Germany; granddaughters Laura, Allison, and Victoria Shoukier all of Germany; sister Claire Elaine Zimmerman; brother Gary (Ann) and 12 nephews and nieces.

He is preceded in death by his parents and brother Tom (Mary) Zimmerman.

He was a member of the Air America Association, Elks Lodge 169, Moose Lodge 1286, Past Commodore of the Fremont Yacht Club, Life member of VFW Post 2947, and Past Commander of American Legion Post 121.

Visitation will be held at the Herman-Karlovetz Funeral Home & Crematory, Fremont on Thursday, March 17 from 9-11am where services will begin at 11am. Military Honors will follow at the funeral home. Burial will be at Oakwood Cemetery, Fremont on Friday at 11am.
Memorials may be made to Homes for Our Troops or the American Cancer Society.