Louis Seymour (Sey) Zimmerman was a man full of life who always made those he met feel seen and celebrated. He was a husband for over four decades, the father of three, the grandfather of three, the brother of four and the uncle of many beloved nieces and nephews. He died unexpectedly on July 9, 2018, of heart disease.

Sey was born on March 17, 1949, in Houston, Texas, to Robert Eugene Zimmerman and Rosalind Pincoffs Zimmerman. He attended Strake Jesuit High School where he was captain of the football team, class president, and winner of the Crusader Award. He graduated from Williams College where he studied economics and played football. Sey next earned his J.D. from the University of Texas at Austin School of Law. He served as a legal clerk for United States Judge Owen Cox in the Southern District of Texas before joining the international law firm of Fulbright and Jaworski. He became a Partner at the firm and worked for 40 years in the Houston, Washington, and Austin offices. 

Sey met his lifelong friend and true love, Janet, while he was clerking and she was teaching special education in Corpus Christi, TX. They married on August 9, 1975, just 7 months after they met. They had three boys together, and despite the high demands of his career, Sey always prioritized his family. He coached soccer and baseball and loved to teach Sunday school among many other things.

Sey was also committed to community service and to his church. He served on the Board of Volunteer Legal Services of Central Texas and was an avid supporter of Williams College. For Williams, he served as Vice-Chair of the Alumni Fund, President of his Alumni Class of 1971, member of the Executive Committee, and Chair of his 25th and 50th Reunions. He was the Senior Warden of the Vestry at St. David’s Episcopal Church and Co-Chair of the Annual Fund at St. Stephen’s Episcopal School, both in Austin, Texas.

Upon retirement, he moved to Great Barrington, Massachusetts, where Janet serves as Rector of Grace Church. Once there, he continued to volunteer for Williams, but also lent his many gifts to the Berkshire Literacy Center, the Lee Food Pantry, and the young people at Gideon’s Garden, Grace’s community garden.

Sey was a voracious reader, who was revising two novels. Crossword puzzles were his daily exercise. He loved to be outside playing golf, hiking or on the beach at Nantucket. His greatest joy was to be with family at the dinner table, at a movie, at a Williams sporting event, traveling or at one of his grandchildren’s soccer games or ballet performances.

Sey was predeceased by his parents. To carry on his legacy, he leaves his wife, the Rev. Dr. Janet Whaley Zimmerman of Great Barrington. His sons, Patrick Whaley Zimmerman (and his wife Katherine Lynch Carroll) of Delmar, NY, Thomas Seymour Zimmerman of Los Angeles, CA, and Frank Robert Zimmerman of Brooklyn, NY. His sisters Rosalind Scott Zimmerman of Alexandria, VA, and Susan Elizabeth Zimmerman Meyer (and her husband Fred Meyer) of Houston, TX. His brothers Robert Eugene Zimmerman, Jr. (and his wife Nancy Wheless Zimmerman) of Houston, TX, and Charles Thomas Zimmerman (and his wife Greta Haegelin Zimmerman) of Houston, TX. His grandchildren Luke Carroll Zimmerman, Beth Carroll Zimmerman and Ian Carroll Zimmerman. His many beloved cousins, nephews and nieces, and his incredible network of friends from Houston to Williams and beyond. His life was much too short, but the time he lived was extraordinary. 

Published in The Berkshire Eagle on July 15, 2018