Carol Marie Zimmerman

Carol Marie Wall Zimmerman, our loving, compassionate, and hard-working mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, passed away on Tuesday, February 21, 2023. She was born February 2, 1937 in Dallas, Texas to George Frederick and Willa Ellen Mathers Wall, and lived there until she was eight.

After a time living in Los Angeles, she moved to Sweet Home, Oregon, where she spent her teen years. While in Sweet Home, she worked several different jobs. Mom loved the natural beauty of the area, especially the fragrant air after rain. In high school she played the saxophone and was honored as Varsity Dance royalty. Mom met her then-future husband, Kenneth Rolland Zimmerman, while he was on leave from a nearby military base. They were married May 13, 1954. Dad introduced Mom to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and she was later baptized and sealed to him in the Los Angeles Temple.

Mom’s greatest contributions were made where it mattered most – with her family. While raising three young children, she worked as a radiology technician to support Dad as he earned bachelor’s and MBA degrees from the University of Utah. Later, she endured years of lean finances and supported Dad in many other ways as he started and built American Equipment, Inc. from a basement home office to a leading regional crane manufacturing, sales, and service company. Her sacrifices made possible his success with the company and should be recognized and remembered.

Mom was a great supporter of her children and was always there cheering us on at countless activities and events. She volunteered often at school, serving a term as Olympus High School PTA president. Mom’s skill as an organizer, planner, and leader were exemplified when she helped start a Russian student exchange program at Olympus.

Mom deeply appreciated the freedoms we enjoy here in the U.S. and actively participated in government, joining several political campaigns and working as an election official. She was appointed by Governor Leavitt to the Utah Children’s Justice Center Advisory Board and served on the Utah Job Coordinating Council and as an alternate on the Utah Appellate Court Nominating Commission. Staying knowledgeable about current events was extremely important to her, and she often expressed her opinions about those events publicly. She was an avid fan of University of Utah basketball and football and attended the U., enjoying courses from great professors, such as musician Jay Welch and pollster Dan Jones. Her service in the Church included time as a Young Women President, Relief Society President, Stake Relief Society Presidency counselor, and as a mission leader with Dad in the California Roseville Mission from 1999 through 2002. We love you and will miss you.

She is survived by her six children and their spouses, Kimberly and James Powers, Cynthia and John Gebler, David and Mary Lynne Zimmerman, Patrick Zimmerman, John and Kristi Zimmerman, and Adam and Katie Zimmerman. She is also survived by 22 grandchildren (and six spouses), 13 great-grandchildren, and siblings, George and Cheryl.

Funeral services will be held Saturday, March 4 at 11:00 a.m. at the LDS chapel at 1925 East Gunderson Lane, Holladay, Utah. A viewing will be held Friday, March 3 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Wasatch Lawn Mortuary, 3401 Highland Drive, Holladay, Utah. Interment, Wasatch Lawn Memorial Park at 3401 Highland Drive, Holladay, Utah following the funeral services. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Junior Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF).

Arrangements under the care and direction of Wasatch Lawn Memorial Park and Mortuary. For more information please call 801-466-8687.