Zimmerman, who was 92 when he died Oct. 14, was associated with the department from the time he joined it in 1951 to his passing. He spent 26 years as chief and 10 as assistant chief. He was also a founding member and president of the Champaign County Fire Association and the Fire Chiefs Association, and a moving force in the effort that secured the first state-funded ambulance units in Champaign County.
The honorary deanship recognizes both Zimmerman’s connection with the school through years of sending volunteer firefighters there and for his family’s support of the Zimmerman-Markley Community Scholarship.
The Fire School says that fund “provides crucial financial support for fire and fire rescue volunteers” from Champaign and Miami counties. Established in 2007, the fund is named for Zimmerman and his wife, Helen Markley Zimmerman, who supported the local fire department as a founding memory of its auxiliary.
The couple also raised five sons who served on the department, one of whom served as Chief of the St. Paris department.
Ann Light, director of the fire school, said that at Zimmerman’s viewing she found “everyone in line was sharing stories about Ralph and the family, and it was fun to hear their good memories.”
She said she was particularly struck by memorabilia, including a cross-stitch piece done by the late Mrs. Zimmerman and the respect shown by a firefighter constantly standing guard at his casket.
An obituary said Zimmerman’s “sense of humor, common sense and deep friendships were special traits,” the same traits the obituary also said earned him the nickname “Mr. Trouble” during the three years he lived at Gabry Ridge Assisted Living in Piqua.
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