Donald Edward Zimmerman

Don “Butch” Zimmerman, age 82 of Dayton, passed away Monday, Christmas Eve, 2018. Butch, the thirteenth child and proudly the only left-hander, was born on March 30, 1936 in Dayton, Ohio to Carl W. and Villanova (Sacksteder) Zimmerman. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife of 53 years and high school sweetheart, Heather (MacPherson) Zimmerman. Also preceded in death by his brothers; Norb, Bob, Bill, Jack, Tom, Dick Zimmerman and his sister, Rita Carnal.

Butch is survived by his four children; Carol Roberts and husband Brian, Craig and wife Toni, Ed and wife Jeannie, and Chrissie; grandchildren, Nick and Amanda, Katie and Nick, Kevin, Matt and Marla, Elisabeth and Mitch, Micaela, Misha, and Sage, and Trevan; great grandchildren, Liam, Violet, and Archie; his brother, Jerry (Jug) Zimmerman; his sisters, Marty Klosterman, Mary Lou Heitkamp, Aggie O'Donnell, Dottie Spatz, and Carol Jean Zimmerman; in-laws, Jean Ann, Alice, Carol Marie Zimmerman, and Ardy and Wil Rutenschoer.

Special remembrance to his Gramps, John A. Sacksteder and Brother Steve Sheehy, S.M.; and special acknowledgement to his life-long college friend and teammate, Tom Curtin.

Butch was a loving and faithful husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, son, brother, and uncle to over 85 nieces and nephews. He enjoyed traveling and vacationing with his children and spending time, playing and joking with his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He was a cherished and loyal friend to many. He was humble and compassionate. He was generous and kind to those in need. Butch shared his good humor with all those in his life. After his daughter graduated with a 4 point from college, Butch would laugh and say he also earned a 4 point from UD, 1 point a year.

Butch enjoyed working over 60 years as a college coach, player/coach for the Dayton Triangles (semi-pro team), home builder for the family business (C.W. Zimmerman Builder), radio color broadcaster for UD football, real estate agent and courier for M&M Title Co. He was a member of the American Legion Post 598 where he enjoyed watching and talking sports with his many friends.

In a word, Butch was an ATHLETE. He came from a large family of athletes that received the “Outstanding Athletic Family” award for the greater Dayton area. He was known as the quarterback who wore a helmet without a face mask (he said the face mask made him dizzy.) Sportswriters frequently referred to Butch as the “Mighty Mite”. He received his nickname “Butch” from his oldest sister, Rita, because he was “always on the go and impossible to find at dinnertime.” At UD, he was known as “Number 11” but Dad will always be “Number 1 in our hearts”.

Butch’s selected athletic accomplishments: Chaminade graduate, 1954; 10 Varsity letters, high school All-American quarterback, Ohio High School All-State (football quarterback & baseball pitcher), All-City basketball, first Annual Agonis Club Trophy for Most Outstanding high school athlete, and first inductee into the Chaminade

Julienne Hall of Fame (1981). University of Dayton graduate, 1958; 7 Varsity “D” letters, University of Dayton Athletic Hall of Fame (2014), UD Special Service Award (1989) from the Dayton Alumni Association and the Tony Ernst Memorial Award (2008) for contributions to UD football. Dayton Amateur Baseball Commission Hall of Fame (1997). Butch established and chaired the University of Dayton Flyer Golf Open in 1981 that benefited UD athletes for 23 years. He coached CYO football, mentoring young men in the Dayton community for 30 years.

Chaminade Additional Accomplishments

* Throughout his high school football career, Butch was a dual threat quarterback who received the award for the “Best Passing Quarterback” and averaged 7 yards per carry

* He passed or ran for 27 TDs

* Butch averaged 20 yards per pass reception and averaged 22 yards per punt and kickoff return

* He was chosen as pitcher by the Southwestern District Squad Ohio Coaches Baseball Association

* He pitched back to back no-hitters his senior year; June 6 and June 7, 1954

* Butch was the leader in stolen bases for the baseball team

* As a pitcher, he averaged 1.33 ERA (earned runs)

* His career batting average, 280; his senior year batting average, 340

* Butch lead the Chaminade Eagles in scoring during his 4-year basketball career

* He scored nearly 25% of his team’s points per game in basketball

University of Dayton Additional Accomplishments

* Football Co-Captain (1957); 7 Varsity “D” letters – 3 for football and 4 for baseball

* Played football teams the likes of Boston College, Holy Cross, Villanova, North Carolina State, Cincinnati, Miami of Ohio, Xavier, Southern Mississippi and Wichita State

* 1955 – Voted best passer for the spring game

* 1956 – Lt. Stan Kurdziel Memorial Trophy – voted by sportswriters & sportscasters for spring game where he scored twice, completed 5 of 7 passes, kicked an extra point and threw a 41-yard pass to All-American Fred Dugan for a third TD

* 1957 – All Southwestern Ohio Team – Quarterback – voted by coaches of Xavier, Cincinnati, Miami and University of Dayton

* 1957 – All Southwestern Ohio Team – Quarterback – voted by Xavier, Cincinnati, Miami & Boston College football players

* 1957 – University of Dayton was nationally ranked among top teams in passing

* 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958 – Received the Outstanding Athletic Performance Award for football and baseball by the Dayton Chamber of Commerce

* From 1953 to 1965, Butch was the only quarterback to lead UD to a winning season

* 1957 – Butch lead the UD squad to a 3-2-1 record against the 6 big clubs

* From 1938 to 1967, Butch was one of only three quarterbacks to lead the UD team to the “unofficial crown” of the Southwestern Ohio foes

* From 1955 – 1957, Butch was never sacked and threw only one interception

* Butch was known to be exceptionally dangerous on rollouts, confounding the opposing defense with the double threat of a pass or run

* Butch was known as the running quarterback

* He was the leader in stolen bases and batting averages on UD’s baseball team from 1954 to 1958

Family and friends may call from 4:00 to 8:00 pm, Friday, January 4th, 2019 at the Tobias Funeral Home - Far Hills Chapel, 5471 Rahn Rd, Kettering. Mass of Christian Burial, 10:30 am, Saturday, January 5th, 2019 at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church, 4500 Ackerman Blvd, Kettering. Father Dan Meyer Officiating. A visitation will precede the service from 9:30 to 10:30 am at St. Charles. Interment David’s Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Holiday Food Baskets for Veterans ℅ American Legion Post 598, 5700 Kentshire Dr., Kettering, Ohio 45440 or to UD Football in his memory, 300 College Park, Dayton, Ohio 45469-7053.

Condolences may be sent to the family by visiting www.tobiasfuneralhome.com.