Ken Zimmerman

He spent most of his childhood in Tinley Park IL. When attending Tinley Park High he was their star Basketball Player. The Zimmerman and the Wolf families were very close even though we lived 1,800 miles apart. Ken’s mother, my Aunt Marje watched over the Wolf family like a hawk. She would have been on the first plane out from Chicago to Portland if she thought we were in trouble.
~ Don Wolf (cousin)

Kenny and I at a young age became the best of pals. The Zimmerman family drove from Tinley Park, IL out to Portland in the summer of 1953. Naturally, even as a 7 year old, I showed him around Southeast Portland. And even though he was only 6, it was not a problem that we would walk 3/4 of a mile from the Wolf's house on 43rd Avenue to the Swamp (Reed Canyon) at Reed College. It was a favorite location on a hot summer day. We were so close. Fond memories.
~ Henry Wolf (cousin)

One story about him is so funny. He was on a field service trip in Austria. He was working on a wood chip drier system. There were several engineers from Germany working with him on the project who did not have a clue as to how to make the drier operate properly. He got tired of them brandishing their degree pedigrees. One of them introduces himself to him as “Dwight Schwartz P.H.D. (not his real name)”. My cousin immediately replies with a handshake, “Ken Zimmerman G.E.D.” A number of people from the U.S. in the room heard him say this and laughed. My cousin actually had a degree in physics. He just did not brag about his extensive intellect. He was most likely the smartest guy in the room.
~ Don Wolf (cousin)

He also had a near photographic memory for equations and number constants. In one meeting someone asked “how many pounds in a kilogram”. Ken articulated the exact conversion constant out to 5 places beyond the decimal point.
~ Don Wolf (cousin)

On phone conversations he would often say, “Don the Police are at the door. I have to go”. He would also often say “Don I have to go see my parole officer” to get me off the phone.
~ Don Wolf (cousin)

Ken gave me a driving tip I will never forget. He said “always look last in the direction that has the smallest field of vision before turning on to an arterial road from a side street. A smart idea. Funny the things one remembers.
~ Don Wolf (cousin)