Leslie Denise Zimmern

Denise: A beautiful person, full of energy, ideas, fun and funny...and at times tough and determined to help, and passionate about doing it her way...but mostly thoughtful, caring and generous. These are the qualities that made Denise the unique person that she was.

Denise was born to Vivian and Sam Zimmern and raised in Chicago, traveled to every state, and lived in a variety of cities across the country. Her strong, intuitive and spiritual nature touched many lives as she made many friends along the way. Life was definitely an adventure with Denise. She always had fun, spontaneous ideas, and whenever she said “I have an idea” or “Something's coming to me” something exciting always followed.

Denise had many passions, including a love for animals. She rescued many over the years. She also loved cooking, and was very proud of her fabulous pasta sauce. She had an appreciation for theater arts and music, was a season ticket holder at Broadway San Diego, and loved attending concerts at the Rady Shell. She also loved being a musician herself- she received her first drum at age 7 and fell in love with percussion. She was involved in her high school and college bands and eventually became a percussionist with the city of Kankakee Symphony. She also loved dancing and was quite the dancer!

Denise had a genuine compassion for those less fortunate than herself. She always made sure that anyone who was going to be alone for a Holiday had a place at her table. She did not worry about who would get along with who, she just invited anyone who needed a place to go, she loved bringing people together.

She also genuinely cared for those without a home. She often bought meals for homeless individuals and once on a very cold and rainy night, she brought an older unhoused couple home with her for a hot meal, a shower, a load of laundry, and to stay overnight. When she cooked holiday meals she made plates of food and went out to find anyone who was hungry.

Denise was a hard worker and was driven to get her Real Estate license. She loved doing the best job possible for her clients. She achieved a number of awards in recognition of her success in real estate, although she often said that such awards were not what was important in the kingdom of heaven.

Denise hungered for a higher understanding of God and the teachings of the Bible and finally knew she had found her home and what she had been seeking upon visiting the Pacific Beach Presbyterian Church. She became a member and was baptized in December of 2018.

Denise loved angels, and hoped that she could become one when she crossed over. A very beautiful thing that a hospice social worker said when she visited very close to her transition was that there were angels filling the room. Denise will be greatly missed and never forgotten, and we hope you will also keep the positive memories in your hearts, in honor of Denise.