Helene Loretta Zimmerman

Helene Zimmerman, 82, of Mt. Pleasant passed away Sunday, Oct. 11, 2015, at her home. Cremation has taken place and a Funeral Mass for Helene will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Friday, Oct. 16, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church with Father Thomas Held presiding. Friends are invited to visit at the church one hour prior to Mass. All are invited to a luncheon at Sacred Heart Parish Hall immediately following Mass. Her ashes will be interred at Calvary Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to Mt. Pleasant Area Community Foundation, Sacred Heart Parish, or charity of choice. Envelopes are available at Charles R. Lux Family Funeral Home. Helene was born Feb. 26, 1933, in Rochester, NY, daughter of the late Henry and Loretta (Hobert) Zimmerman. She graduated from Macedon High School at the age of 16, having attended country school for grades 1-8. She attended the State University of New York in Albany and graduated in 1953. She also earned her Masters degree at SUNY in 1959 and earned her Doctorate degree in 1969 from the University of North Dakota. For her dissertation, she traveled to the Common Market Countries, visiting schools in Europe for about four months, gathering data. Helene taught high school business courses in Williamson, NY from 1953-1968. She served as department chair for some of those years. Upon being awarded her Ph.D., she accepted a position at the University of Kentucky (Lexington). In the fall of 1970, she was offered a position at Central Michigan University in the business education department, which she accepted. While a faculty member in the College of Business, she earned the rank of professor. Dr. Zimmerman was active in ARMA (Association of Records Managers and Administrators), served as chair of the Education Committee, and in 1977 earned the CRM (Certified Records Manager). She became a member of the Institute of Certified Record Management, serving four years as secretary, and another nine on the committee to write questions for their national examination. She was responsible for establishing the major in Records Management at CMU. She was also active in business education circles, working closely with the Michigan State Department of Education, was president of the Michigan Business Education Association, and was exceptionally active in the International Society for Business Education. She served as U.S. National President and served on the International board (SIEC) having traveled to many countries for her profession, as well as for pleasure. She received SIECs Outstanding Member Award. In addition to these activities, she was co-author of a general business textbook for high schools. Helene was also active in Delta Kappa Gamma, an international womens organization for education. In addition to being president of the local chapter, she was president of the Michigan chapter and served on a national committee. She remained active throughout her retirement. She was a member of the Sacred Heart Catholic Parish and was an active member in the Catholic Daughters, having served locally as regent as well as secretary at the state level. Helene was exceptionally diligent in being an active member in many local organizations. She had worked on Christmas Outreach since its inception, served on the local International Relations Committee, and was active in Womens Club. She was never just a member of these committees and organizations but rather insisted on being active, volunteering for the job that no one else was interested in doing, and always going beyond what was expected to make the organization thrive. Helenes first love was travel. She visited about 50 countries worldwide and even conducted four tours to Europe. In later years, when wheelchair bound, she still went on several trips, most recently to Orlando, FL and a Disney Cruise to the Bahamas. She is survived by her cousin, Evelyn Bartold of Webster, NY; several cousins in New York State; a goddaughter, Pat Cunningham of Portland, OR; and many friends and acquaintances including her dear friends Shannon Carr and Marcella Kocar, both of Mt. Pleasant.