James Stanley Zimmerman

James “Jim” Stanley Zimmerman was born on February 13, 1932, in Saginaw, Michigan. During his senior year of high school, he attended Northwestern Prep School in Minneapolis, Minnesota, then graduated from St. Mary’s Cathedral High School in 1950. He entered the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland with the Class of 1954, and upon graduation was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Air Force as a Civil Engineer. Jim married Kirby Anne Elliott of Reisterstown, Maryland, in the Naval Academy Chapel the day after graduation. Kirby remained his devoted companion throughout their 71plus years together.

Jim’s first assignment was a three-year deployment to Fürstenfeldbruck, Germany, where he managed local professional and USAF engineering staffs responsible for rebuilding World War II bombing damage to the air base and its real-estate facilities—originally the German Air Force Academy. “Fursty,” as it was known, also served as a training base for advanced jet flight instruction for several NATO nations.

He went on to earn an MBA at the Air Force Institute of Technology in Dayton, Ohio. Jim was then assigned to the Air Force Systems Command, where he worked on upgrading the defensive posture of facilities across the United States and Western Europe, including involvement with the BOMARC system and Cheyenne Mountain.

After more than eight years of military service, Jim began his civilian career with the General Electric Company’s Aerospace Division in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. His work focused on new defense and advanced-energy developments, including classified Department of Defense programs and groundbreaking Department of Energy initiatives in solar-voltaic, wind, CGI, and other alternative-energy systems. One of his major programs was the preliminary design of a wind-turbine generator with a 500-foot blade “wing-span.”

He later spent several years with GE’s Advanced Development Department in Daytona Beach, Florida, before returning to Valley Forge. Following his 25-year career with GE, Jim joined the Vitro Corporation in Maryland as head of Air Force and NASA program development, helping diversify the company’s work across defense and civilian federal markets.

After retiring from Vitro, Jim and Kirby moved to Slaughter Beach, Delaware. They later lived in Gainesville, Florida; Purcellville, Virginia; Kennesaw, Georgia; and Mineral, VA.

Jim will be fondly remembered by Kirby; their six surviving children—Brice (USNA ’78), Kathryn, J. Justin, Morris, Walter, and Christopher; five grandchildren; and one great-grandchild. He was predeceased by their daughter Stephanie in 2013.