Nancy Luke Zimmerman

Nancy Luke Zimmerman, age 56, of Marblehead, formerly of Salem, and Cheshire, CT, died Saturday, November 5, 2011. Nancy was the beloved wife and soul mate of John D. Zimmerman, with whom she shared 21 years of marriage. She was the beloved daughter of Kathy and the late Howard Luke.

Born in Glen Ridge, NJ and raised in Cheshire, CT, Nancy graduated in 1973 from Sacred Heart Academy in Hamden, CT. She earned an Associates Degree in Business from Bryant College, winning an English departmental award and graduating in 1975. It was at Bryant College that she made lifelong friendships with a large group of friends. The “Bryant Girls” annual get-togethers became the stuff of legend for both their attendance and the amount of laughter shared over the course of their weekend.

Upon graduating from Bryant College, Nancy’s working career could easily have served as the inspiration for the movie “Working Girl”. She began her career as a secretary at Spectra-Strip, then worked her way up through the ranks as a customer service representative, inside sales specialist, and outside sales professional. While at Spectra-Strip Nancy became affiliated with the Walter Camp Football Foundation. Nancy served as a secretary in the foundation, becoming its first female member and meeting a number of collegiate and NFL legends. Nancy moved to Salem in 1984 while working for Amphenol. Education was incredibly important to Nancy, which is why she began attending night school at Lesley College, graduating in 1988 with a Bachelor of Science in Organizational Behavior. Her sales career continued with Methode Electronics and culminated with her serving as the Director of East Coast Sales for Picolight, a high technology start-up company. A true testament to Nancy’s character is that many of her former customers and colleagues remained close friends throughout the remainder of her life.

Nancy began devoting herself to her family, friends and charitable organizations when she decided to end her business career. One of her life’s goals was to be a Santa Claus, which she fulfilled as a member and chairperson of Our Lady Star of the Sea’s Christmas Giving Tree committee. She drew great pleasure from buying gifts and seeing the joy on children’s faces when she made deliveries to deserving North Shore organizations. Nancy volunteered at the Harrington School’s library in Lynn where she delighted in her interactions with the students and treasured the occasional serenade performed exclusively for her. At a friend’s invitation, she recently joined a book club, which was the perfect combination as Nancy was a voracious reader and thoroughly enjoyed lively conversation, which frequently had little to do with the group’s book selection. Nancy also served as a member of the Corinthian Yacht Club’s House Committee and its information subcommittee. Nancy loved springtime and was an avid gardener, like her beloved Nanie. She loved the beach and the ocean, believing the best part of sailing was enjoying cocktails with family and friends on Corinthian’s porch on a summer’s day as sunset approached.

In addition to her husband John, mother Kathy and her husband Jim White, Nancy is survived by her sister Kathy, her husband Wayne, her nephew Andrew and his fiancée Anna, and nephew Matthew; her brother Frank, his wife Cindy, her nephew Eric and niece Jessica; and her cousin Eric who was like a brother to her, his wife Rosemary and their sons Eric and Michael. She is also survived by her nephew John Murphy, niece Katie Murphy and her fiancé Chuck, nephew and niece Richard and Audrey Zimmerman, and her many godchildren. A great friend to many, she will be dearly missed by all who knew her and loved her.

A wake will be held on Thursday, November 10 from 4:00 to 8:00 PM at the Eustis and Cornell Funeral Home, 42 Elm Street, Marblehead.

Relatives and friends are invited to a mass to celebrate her life at Our Lady Star of the Sea Church, 85 Atlantic Avenue, Marblehead on Friday, November 11 at 11:00 AM. A reception will follow her mass.

Nancy’s husband and family encourage those who wish to make memorial contributions make them to the Breast Cancer Research and Education Fund, c/o Jerry Younger, MD, Massachusetts General Hospital, 55 Fruit Street, Boston, MA 02114. They also encourage you to take an extra tag off of a Christmas Giving Tree or purchase an extra toy for Toys for Tots in Nancy’s memory to brighten the life of a child.