Martha T. Zimmerman, 83

She was born in DeKalb County on Sept. 19, 1923. She was the daughter of the late Clarence P. and Jennie (Gibbs) Kirby and was the wife of Col. Kent L.A. Zimmerman.

She leaves her son, Zachary L. Zimmerman, his wife, Marsha, and daughter, Dana; and daughter, Jennifer (Zimmerman) Slattery, her husband, Michael, and their two sons, Ryan and Kyle, to mourn her passing.

Martha, better known as Marty, attended school at Oakland Elementary School near McMinnville and graduated from McMinnville High School. She enrolled in the St. Thomas Hospital Nursing School in Nashville in 1943 and was immediately offered a full Scholarship in the Nurse?s Cadet Program of the U.S. Navy and graduated as a Registered Nurse in 1946.

While in the last semester of Nursing School, she met and married Captain Kent L.A. Zimmerman, who was stationed at Smyrna AFB, near Nashville. Captain Zimmerman chose to remain in the new USAF, so they became a military family until his retirement in 1966.

Marty was very active in military base activities during her husband?s tour in the Air Force. She continued this interest in the civilian community after her husband retired from the Air Force in 1966. She was a trained Red Cross CPR and disaster nurse and participated in other volunteer community and church activities, such as, Meals on Wheels, The Fish Program, Nursing Home Care, and Emergency Hospital Assistance.

Marty was a confessed Christian. She and her family attended chapels at all the bases where they were stationed. She and her husband both served as deacons of the First Baptist Church at East Greenwich, R.I. and were members of the Protestant Church in the Air Force Village. Marty will be remembered by her many military and civilian friends throughout the United States.

A memorial service will be held Jan. 8 at 9:30 a.m. at Air Force Village I Chapel at 4917 Ravenswood Drive in San Antonio.