Jim Zimmerschied was born in Denver, Colorado, in 1947, the first of five children of Harold and Alma Zimmerschied. He had a happy childhood, often roaming the neighborhood with his siblings and kids from down the street. After attending Curé d’Ars grade school and Regis High School, he earned a bachelor’s degree in mineral engineering physics at Colorado School of Mines.

After college, he worked for Bechtel in quality assurance for nuclear submarines at Mare Island Naval Shipyard in Vallejo, CA, and then at nuclear power plants under construction in Iowa and Arkansas. In 1978, he moved to Richland, WA, and joined the Washington Public Power Supply System, now known as Energy Northwest. He attended night school to earn a master’s degree in computer science, as well as Toastmasters to help prepare for the final oral exam. He transferred into the engineering department, and was a principal engineer when he retired in 2011.

Jim and his wife Maura met at a Thanksgiving dinner, unwittingly being matched by friends. They married in 1980, both still working and taking graduate classes at night for several years. Jim wanted to marry Maura because she made good pies, and Maura married Jim because he had a microwave oven; this partnership thrived for 44 years. Their daughter, Ann, joined them in 1987, profoundly enriching their lives. When reading bedtime stories to her, he liked to tweak the tales for laughs. He kept reading aloud to her throughout her childhood, advancing from Sunny Bunny Comes Home in toddler years to the Lord of the Rings series when she was in fourth grade.

He took great joy in building things for Ann, from a toy stable for her My Little Ponies to a large play structure in the backyard. He introduced her to computer gaming early, helping her through games such as Temple of Apshai, Designasaurus II, and the King’s Quest series before she even entered kindergarten. He took pride in her exploration of various musical instruments, particularly when she learned to play fiddle music, and could play along with his guitar.

He had great fun with the family dogs, a succession of five cairn terriers: Kipper, Katy, Happy, Bonnie, and now Pepper, who often slept next to him at night. He was devoted to his whole family, caring greatly about all his siblings and about Maura’s side of the family as well. He also highly enjoyed seeing his many nieces and nephews growing up.

Inspired by the Kingston Trio, Jim played bluegrass banjo and guitar starting in his teens and carried his love of music throughout his life. He loved listening to both old favorites and new tunes, and occasionally reviewed new bluegrass albums for a hobbyist website. He often played at senior living establishments with the Old Time Fiddlers and jammed with friends in their Friday guitar group.  He took time to mentor young musicians, and both volunteered for and attended Richland’s Tumbleweed Music Festival every year. Jim and Maura kicked up their heels at contradances for many years.

A lifelong dedicated Catholic, Jim prioritized being active in his faith. He served regularly at Christ the King parish in Richland, where he attended Mass daily and served as sacristan. He also volunteered for decades at the annual Sausage Fest and with the Knights of Columbus. He worked on Cursillo weekends and he and Maura met with a weekly prayer group for 46 years, becoming close friends with the other members.

Jim was generous with his time and resources, volunteering for many charity projects, sponsoring several impoverished children overseas, and providing frequent help to a friend who suffered from Lou Gehrig’s disease. He also volunteered for many years at the Richland Food Bank, SIGN Fracture Care, and Meals on Wheels, among other charities. Unfailingly humble, he was the living embodiment of Matthew 6:1–4, declining to ever “blow a trumpet” to announce his good deeds, instead keeping his focus on the needs of those he served.

He was always passionate about science and technology, particularly robotics, electromagnetism, and the many Tesla coils he built from scratch in his backyard workshop. He would often wow visitors with twelve-foot-long electric sparks he could generate from the largest coils. He took pride in his home and yard, performing nearly all home installation, maintenance, and repairs over the years, as well as growing roses, vegetables, fruit, and large sunflowers around the sides of the house.

He enjoyed science fiction books and movies, and especially loved watching Mystery Science Theater with Ann and her husband, Kevin. In later years, he played long-running games of correspondence chess with Kevin; he thought very highly of his son-in-law, as well as of Kevin’s family, with whom Jim and Maura became close friends. He and Ann also enjoyed tasting new beers together, playing tabletop games such as Qwixx and Bezzerwizzer, and watching favorite films from the Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Godzilla, and Alien franchises.

He had a keen wit and a dry sense of humor, cracking jokes even while hospitalized. He was a great blessing to all he encountered, and an incomparable role model to his family.

He is survived by his wife Maura, his daughter Ann, his son-in-law Kevin, his in-laws Rich and Sharon Parker and their daughter Kathryn, his brothers Dan and Ken, his sister Heidi, sister-in-law Paula, sister-in-law Cindy and her children, Matthew and Hannah, and close friends Ralph and Roberta Grummer, and many beloved relations from the Kelly side of the family. He is predeceased by both his and Maura’s parents and his brother Tom.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to Human Life of Washington, the Richland Food Bank, or the Three Rivers Folklife Society, or arrange Masses to be offered at any Catholic church for the repose of his soul.