Gail Zimmerman, 79, died peacefully on Sunday November 2, 2025. She was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas where she graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School before attending the University of Texas and St. Mary’s University.
Gail began her career as a high school science teacher at Winston Churchill High School, later shifting to accounting and becoming a CPA at a local firm. After years of supporting her husband in his legal career, she decided to join him and attended St. Mary’s Law School where she graduated 2nd in her class - all while raising 2 children. She and her husband, Marvin Zimmerman, were true partners in life. Married for 59 years, they practiced law together for more than 25 of those years. She was passionate about helping others and fiercely advocating for her clients’ rights as a personal injury and family law attorney. She was especially proud of arguing a case in front of the Texas Supreme Court in 1987 that resulted in abolishing the interspousal immunity law, which had unfairly limited women’s rights.
Gail balanced her professional life with being a beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and big sister. After both of her parents had passed away when she was 22, she opened her home and her heart to take in and raise her 13-year-old brother, Fred. She loving raised her two children, Martin and Marian, sharing her quirky sense of humor, strong Jewish identity, and values of education, hard work, and financial responsibility. Despite a demanding career, she always made time for family meals and attending her children’s activities. She extended her kindness to her children’s friends as well, welcoming them as her own.
Becoming a grandmother brought her immeasurable joy. She delighted in showering her grandchildren with love, hot dogs, Whataburger, and more junk food than their parents thought possible. She cherished watching them grow, being present in their lives whenever she could, and proudly sharing their accomplishments with others. She passed her down her curiosity and love of stories to them as well as teaching both of her granddaughters how to sew.
She was a kind soul whose propensity towards the unusual fostered a love of exploration in the lives of those she touched. She will be remembered for her kindness, intelligence, integrity, and unwavering dedication to her family, friends, and clients. She was deeply loved and will be profoundly missed.
She was preceded in death by her son and daughter-in-law, Martin and Adrianna Zimmerman; grandson, Ethan Zimmerman; brother and sister-in-law, Barry and Jacqueline Ungerleider; and sister-in-law, Betty Ungerleider. Gail is survived by her husband, Marvin Zimmerman; daughter, Marian Neleson, son-in-law, Craig Neleson; grandchildren, Nathan and Sasha Zimmerman, and Renee and Joshua Neleson; and brother, Fred Ungerleider.
A Graveside Service will be held on Wednesday, November 5, 2025, at 12:00 p.m., in Congregation Beth-El Memorial Gardens, 1715 Austin Hwy, San Antonio, TX 78218.
Rabbi Mara Nathan will officiate.
