Laura B. Zimmerman

Laura Ann Bryan Zimmerman, born on June 18, 1962, in Richmond, Indiana, passed away, at home, peacefully, on Sunday, March 6, 2022, in Hanover, Pennsylvania, at the age of 59.

Laura was one of three siblings, the baby sister, born to John Clark and Rose Marie (Swisher) Bryan, and a doting older sister to a brother, born to John Clark and Wanda Bryan, of Washington Court House, Ohio. She attended The Alexander School, Four Corners Elementary School, Sligo Junior High School, and Northwood High School, in Silver Spring, Maryland, and, for her beautiful voice, earned a music scholarship to Susquehanna University, in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, where she graduated with a BA in English. There, she met a dashing young trumpet player, future music teacher, fly fisherman extraordinaire, and the first and forever love of her life, David C. Zimmerman. Theirs was a love-at-first sight, stars-in-eyes kind of love, and together, they simply glowed. In September of 1986, Laura and David married, in Washington, DC, and settled in Hanover, Pennsylvania to begin life together. They settled into a charming upstairs apartment, which Laura decorated with white eyelet curtains and Battenburg lace. Soon thereafter, they bought their first home, where they welcomed their three loving sons. In these years, Laura worked in the publishing field, excelling in sales, and stunning the business world with her fashionable attire, professional acumen, and successful portfolio of clients. In 1995, on a perfect lot they had purchased some years before, in what would become a neighborhood of dear friends, they built a home together, filling it with baseballs and basketballs and soccer balls and books and trophies, Christmas trees, birthday cakes, potato salad picnics, Springer spaniels, friends, family – memories.

Laura loved being a mom. She basked in her pregnancies, admired how her beloved Dave loved his baby boys, and fiercely championed them as they grew. Her pride in them, her hopes for them, her love of them simply was her oxygen, and as they, in their turn, met and married the loves of their lives, she embraced their wives as her “girls.” She adored them.

In recent years, having launched their precious sons into successful and happy lives, Laura and Dave have filled their days with learning how to be retired, and relishing in the simple pleasures of a drive past a field of sunflowers, enjoying Dave’s fresh-from-the-garden salsa and fresh from-the-stream trout, snuggling with their sweet Daisy girl, a fresh breeze, tinkling wind chimes, prayer, and planning and taking road trips to be their loved ones, near and far.

Laura loved babies, flowers, farmer’s markets, breakfast at a good diner, picking out the perfect gift, entertaining, watching Wheel of Fortune, spending any bit of time with friends, watching Dave tie flies at her mom’s careworn and precious secretary desk, puttering here and there on errands, visiting friends facing cancer, loneliness, or worry, and talking on the phone.

She faced, fought, and triumphed over so many challenges – and though those who knew her well knew of her determined love of and gratitude for life - some who knew her for as long as over a year were stunned to learn she was an amputee. She wanted no pity – just a laugh, a companion, a chance to give back. How such fierce bravery and unstinting generosity could fit in one heart is impossible to consider – yet Laura’s heart continued to stun us all, and to hug us with an irresistible warmth. She simply loved. She loved loyally, and she loved big.

Laura is survived by her devoted husband, David C. (Dave) Zimmerman, of Hanover; sons and daughters-in-law, Michael Bryan (Mike) and Molly Monahan Zimmerman, of Houston, Texas, D. Christopher (Chris) and Leah Damin Zimmerman, of Bath, Pennsylvania, and Benjamin McCall (Ben) and Kalie Williams Zimmerman, of Aspinwall, Pennsylvania; step-mother, Wanda Bryan, of Grove City, Ohio; mother-in-law, Jocelyn S. Zimmerman, of Lewisburg, Pennsylvania; an aunt, Lois Swisher, of East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania; her sister and brother-in-law, Margaret Lynn (Maggie) Bryan and Charles Myers (Chuck) Thurber, II, of Elmira, New York; her brother and girlfriend, J. Alexander (Alex) Bryan and Cate Finch, of Nashville, Tennessee; brothers-and sisters-in-law, Andrew A. (Andy) and Jill Chambers Zimmerman, of Williamsburg, Virginia and Mark P. and Truly Walters Zimmerman, of Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania; beloved nephew and Godson and niece-in-law, Charles Myers (Charley) and Kia Thurber, III, of Woodstock, Georgia; nephews Chester P. (Chip) and Aaron C. Zimmerman, of Williamsburg, Virginia, niece, Sarah Elise (Elise) Zimmerman, of Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania; grand-niece and grand-nephew, Charlotte Mia Thurber and Charles Myers Thurber, IV, of Woodstock, Georgia; and many beloved cousins and friends. Laura was predeceased by her mother, Rose Marie Swisher Bryan, her father, John Clark Bryan, and her father-in-law, the Reverend P. Philip Zimmerman.

The family will host calling hours at Panebaker Funeral Home, on Friday, March 11, 2022, from 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM, at 311 Broadway, in Hanover. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Saturday, March 12, 2022, at 11:00 AM, at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Conewago Chapel, 30 Basilica Drive, in Hanover, Pennsylvania, to celebrate her life.

Over the last few years, Laura and her family have witnessed her countless acts of kindness, sacrifice, and generosity. For those wishing to honor her life, in Laura’s memory, please perform an act of kindness whenever and where ever you can, send a hand-written note or card to brighten someone’s day or to simply let them know you care, call your loved ones and sing together, make someone a pot of soup, hold hands, say thank you, honor your family and your family traditions, forgive, keep a sparkle in your eyes, and pray – pray unceasingly, knowing that God knows our hearts, even when we have no words, and He never leaves us.