John Galt Zimmerman, Jr.

John Galt Zimmerman, Jr. died peacefully in his sleep on March 16, 2022, at Apple Blossom Senior Living in Moon Twp., age 86. He was born November 27, 1935, in Summit, NJ, to John Galt Zimmerman, Sr., and Jane Cameron Slaymaker Zimmerman. Shortly thereafter, the family moved to Chicago where he spent his early youth. In 1942, they moved to Fox Chapel where his parents would remain. He attended Shady Side Academy and went on to graduate from St. Paul’s School in Concord, NH, in 1954. At both schools, he was a star athlete in many sports, but most particularly, when he rowed at the Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames for St. Paul’s in June of 1954. Also during these years, he spent summers harvesting tobacco on his family’s farm in Lancaster County and as a cattle wrangler at Eaton’s Ranch in Wolf, WY. He graduated from Yale University in 1958 with a degree in Chemical Engineering and from the University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School of Business in 1960 with an MBA. He then joined the United States Navy and remained in the reserves until being honorably discharged in 1967. His first professional job was as a chemical engineer at Pittsburgh Coke & Chemical Company at their Neville Island Plant. Upon their purchase by US Steel in the mid-1960s, he moved downtown to the US Steel Building where he would spend the rest of his corporate career in management with US Steel, USX Corporation, and Aristech Chemical Corp., from which he retired in 1990 as Manager of Business Planning. In retirement, he founded The Zimmerman Consultancy which provided business forecasting to clients in the chemical industry. A 54-year resident of Edgeworth, he felt there was no finer borough in which to live. There, he took extraordinary pride in his vegetable garden and tending to his large lawn as if it was a golf course. While his children were growing up, he was active in the Sewickley YMCA Indian Guides and Indian Princesses program, and with Cub Scout Pack 243. He was a member of the Allegheny Country Club, a former member and board member of the Harvard-Yale-Princeton Club of Pittsburgh, the Fox Chapel Golf Club, and the Rolling Rock Club. Preceded in death by his parents, he is survived by his loving and devoted wife of 56 years, Margaret Fraser Ratcliffe Zimmerman; and children, John Galt Zimmerman, III, of Harrisburg, PA; and Margaret Fraser Zimmerman Traverse (S. Bradley) of Falls Church, VA; three grandchildren, Margaret Fraser Traverse, John Adams Traverse, and Jane Anne Traverse, all of Falls Church, VA; a brother, Dr. William F. Zimmerman (Michele) of Amherst, MA.; and a sister, Louisa Zimmerman Smyth (the late D. Grahame) of Oakmont, PA; and many nieces and nephews. The family will receive visitors on Sunday March 20, 2022, at the Allegheny Country Club from 4:00 – 6:00 PM. Private burial will take place at a future date. Arrangements entrusted to R.D. COPELAND, LTD., Irvine Chapel, Sewickley.