Carroll R. Zimmerman

December 28, 1939—December 6, 2012

Carroll Rogers Zimmerman, of Charlotte, NC, finally free of the shackles of human frailty, entered eternity early Thursday morning, December 6, eager to take on new responsibilities.

She was born in Salisbury on December 28, 1939 to Agnes Cree and Arthur Larry Rogers, both gifted musicians and committed school teachers. Following a 1953 family move, she entered the eighth grade in Charlotte. At Myers Park High she became Student-Council President and Head Cheerleader and ultimately, cum laude graduate of both Myers Park and Agnes Scott College in Atlanta. After recording top marks in all courses required of mathematics majors in her first three semesters at Scott, she abruptly changed her major, committing herself to an independent honors study of T. S. Eliot. She wrote her thesis on his masterpiece, “The Waste Land.”

Following graduation, a whirlwind romance, and marriage, Carroll launched her business career at an Atlanta bank, then in the business office of a local dental practice, before biology and motherhood presented greener grass. A girl who has thrown off calculus and differential equations for Modernist poetry, does not hesitate when faced with a pair of near-clones of herself!

Later, with her daughters out of college and charting careers of their own, Carroll was free to consider a proposition from her brother in Charlotte, ultimately making his dream of returning to private-solo practice a reality. She built a loving and attentive staff around an office plan, which she tweaked, then re-invented altogether. Finally she forced it to thrive, making the 1990’s the happiest decade of her brother’s professional career. Following his retirement in 2001, Carroll became general manager of Dana Rader Golf Academy, then in the business office of Richards Tripp Dentistry until her recent retirement.

Following her seventieth birthday, Carroll, deeply in love again, became the stunning new bride of Brian Zimmerman. Never have two people meant more to each other.

Mrs. Zimmerman is preceded in death by a previous husband, Owen Hampton Whittle, and an adult nephew, Wade Barrow Rogers.

She is survived by her husband, Brian Zimmerman, of Charlotte; daughter Betsy Lonsberry and husband Dave, and their children, Joshua (15) and Gabrielle (13), of Palm Beach Gardens, FL; daughter, Kathy Beard and husband Chris, and their children Christopher (9) and Jonathan (6), of Waxhaw, NC.

Carroll is also survived by stepdaughters, Carie Zimmerman and her daughter, Lilly (12), of Clayton, NC and Julie Alexander and her daughter Jordan (8), of Lowden, TN.

And a brother, Jay P. Rogers and his wife Ann, of Norfolk, VA, and their daughters, Molly Campbell and husband Brian, and their children Isabel (14) and James (9), all of Waxhaw, NC, and Barbara Rogers, of Norfolk.

Plus another brother, Dr. Larry A. Rogers and wife Betty, of Charlotte, and their children, Dr. Arthur Larry (Chip) Rogers, II, of Macon, GA; Dr. Louise C. Rogers, of Charlotte; Frances Carroll Rogers, of Atlanta, GA; Jonathan Duke Rogers and wife Carrie, and daughters Francie (6) and Jane (4), of Raleigh, NC; Ashley Stiles and husband Warren, and sons Parker (7) and Charlie Arch (6 weeks); and former sister-in-law, Harriet B. Rogers, of Charlotte.

Mrs. Zimmerman’s life will be celebrated by friends and family at Forest Hill Church, 7224 Park Road, Charlotte 28210 on Sunday, December 9 at 4:00 p.m. Family will receive guests afterward.

In lieu of flowers, Mrs. Zimmerman has expressed a desire that friends discover the joy of seeking out the needy and the downtrodden, and ministering to them with love through personal generosity. Those with gifts searching for the desperately needy should contact the Pastor’s Benevolent Fund of Forest Hill Church, 704-716-8700.

Condolences may be offered at www.HarryandBryantFuneralHome.com

Family and friends were stunned in recent weeks to hear Mrs. Zimmerman repeat the following lines from memory even as she struggled with cancer, words she had penned as a 21-year-old:

The fading rays of sinking sun

with red and gold and azure spun

across a cloudless sea

escaping from the artists’ clutch

yield only to the Master’s touch

in splendor, full and free.