John William (Bill) Zimmerman (of Oregon, OH) born in Fostoria, OH on November 6, 1946 to the late Ross and Laura Zimmerman passed away on April 29, 2026 at The Landings of Oregon. Bill graduated from Lakota Local High School, earned a Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Ohio Northern University and a Master's of Educational Administration at Bowling Green State University.

As a child, young man and father, Bill lived in the towns of Kansas and Fostoria in Ohio. Most recently, he has lived in Elmore and Oregon, Ohio.

Through part of his career, Bill worked as an instructor at Terra Community College in Fremont where he taught physics and instrument control. He finished his career at First Energy (Toledo Edison) employed as a training instructor and instrument control engineer at Davis Besse and then as an engineer at the FE downtown office. For over 15 years during his retirement, Bill acted as a substitute teacher for many area schools in NW Ohio. Math teachers loved to have him substitute in their classes because he could actually teach the subject, even calculus!

As a stand-out school athlete, Bill remained committed to sports and education throughout his life. He served on the Board of Education for Lakota Local Schools for 6 years and the Sandusky County Board of Education for 2 years. He was also active in the Lakota Local athletic boosters and at Trinity Episcopal Church in Fostoria. Bill even helped coach his daughters' YMCA gymnastics teams for many years. More recently, for 18 years, Bill officiated middle and high school track meets in NW Ohio. He also officiated during the annual Jesse Owen's Classic at OSU. As a runner, Bill competed in local 5K and 10K races and as part of teams in the Glass City Marathon. Quite the dare-devil, Bill used to participate in moto cross races.

Bill and his wife of 31 years, Judy, loved to travel. They flew to numerous states and provinces in North America to tent camp, and took their bicycles and kayaks each year to camp in MI, PA, and VT. Every year they skied in Northern MI and NY and frequently went skiing in VT or western North America. They rode their bikes most days in the summer, participated in local bike tours and bicycled from Pittsburgh to Washington, DC in their 70's! Bill continued his dare-devil ways, dirt-biking in forests near Grayling, MI with Judy's family. He and Judy also went sky diving and hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon. Bill and Judy also cruised/toured in Alaska, Australia, the British Isles, the Caribbean, China, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hawaii, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, Russia, Sweden, and Turkey. Bill especially loved camping, biking, canoeing, and hiking with their grandchildren in the Smoky Mountains and on Lake Huron in Ontario. He really enjoyed wine and tried to taste the local wines during his various travels.

Bill is survived by his wife Judy (married 1995); daughters, Aimee´ Bergant (Harry) and Emily Haughawout (Ethan); step-daughters, Leeanne LaForme (Randy Roslin) and Anjanette LaForme Grant (Craig Croley); four grandchildren, (Natalya, Ahnna, Grayson and Sawyer); five step-grandchildren (Allison, Nathan (Karen), Josh, Kylie and Regan); and two step-great grandchildren (Jackson and Hudson); siblings, Brenda Creeger (Dude) and Bob Zimmerman (Lisa); sister-in-law, Kathy Zimmerman; along with many nieces, nephews, loving family members and dear friends. He was preceded in death by his parents, Ross and Laura Zimmerman, and his brother, Larry Zimmerman.

The family will receive friends at Eggleston Meinert Pavley Funeral Home, Oregon Chapel, 440 S. Coy Road Monday, May 4, 2026 from 11:00 am until funeral service at 2:00 pm. Interment: Lake Township Cemetery. Expressions of sympathy may be directed in the form of contributions to St. Mark Lutheran Church, Toledo.