Barbara Jean Malone Zimmer, age 88, died peacefully on Dec. 13 in St. Paul, Minn.
Barbara was born in Portland, Maine, on Feb. 5, 1933, to Eugene “Ole” Cyril and Florence Elizabeth (O’Leary) Malone. The family moved many times over the years, finally settling in Michigan. Barbara attended the University of Detroit (Mercy), where she graduated, with honors, with a degree in English and met her future husband, George. They married in 1955.
When her husband was in graduate school at Michigan State University, they lived in student housing and, later, in Southfield, where they both taught seventh-grade English – one in the public, the other in the parochial school system. They moved to Evanston in 1964, where the family lived for more than 50 years.
Barbara and George had many friends and were active in civil rights issues, from marching in protests to posing as shoppers to expose discrimination in real estate and retail transactions. Through the League of Women Voters, Barbara studied housing discrimination and, in 1977, she and longtime friend Inge Kistler rewrote the Evanston housing code. Barbara Zimmer worked for the City of Evanston’s emergency housing services and taught in an off-campus program for teenage mothers.
Barbara received a master’s degree in educational administration from National College of Education (now National Louis University) and, in 1977, was elected to the Evanston Township High School District 202 Board of Education, where she served until 1984. While caring for her husband, Barbara was a policy specialist for District 202.
In 1991, Barbara was hired to develop the Community Service Program at ETHS. The program included a club and a credit-bearing course. Barbara served in that role until 2008, when she retired at age 75, developing student- and faculty-driven school-community partnerships that included work with Habitat for Humanity, Evanston’s soup kitchens and other community organizations.
A lifelong Democrat, Barbara was active on the local, state and national levels. She served as treasurer for Adlai Stevenson’s gubernatorial campaign and met future President Barack Obama when he campaigned in Evanston for the U.S. Senate.
Barbara Zimmer participated in the Catholic communities of St. Athanasius Parish and the Sheil Catholic Center, was an avid bridge-player, book-club member and theater/concertgoer. Above all, she loved spending time with family and friends at her home – especially on the front porch on Park Place. Barbara and George were fantastic hosts of reunions, parties, and their doors were open to all.
She was preceded in death by her beloved parents; sons, Joseph and John Stephen; and sister, Patricia Schimminger. She is greatly missed by daughters Jeanne Felicity Zimmer (Alfred W. “Pete” Steinke), Suzanne (Meyer) Lieberman; son, Alain Zimmer; nine grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; her sisters, Joan Shaughnessy and Marjorie Elliott; as well as many cousins, nieces, nephews and friends.
A Mass of Christian burial will be held 10:30 a.m. Saturday, May 28, at Sheil Catholic Community at Northwestern University, 2110 Sheridan Rd., Evanston, with internment following at Calvary Catholic Cemetery, 301 Chicago Avenue.
Donations may be made to the Barbara Zimmer Fund at Evanston Township High School via the ETHS Foundation, 1600 Dodge Ave., Evanston, IL, 60201, or online at www.supporteths.org. The fund will be used to support efforts related to Barbara’s deepest passion: students and community service. For more information, call 847-424-7158.
Credit: Jeanne Zimmer
Lovely tribute to a formidable woman.
Eternal rest grant unto her, oh Lord.
Barbara was a friend and mentor to two generations of my family. She’s a wonderful example of unselfish community involvement–always focused on who will benefit, not who will get the credit.