Sophie Bernadette Zimmerman

Sophie Bernadette Zimmerman Bernadette Zimmerman of Leonardtown, MD passed away on December 19, 2023 at the age of 86. Born on May 9, 1937 in Bushwood, MD, she was the youngest daughter and the seventh of nine children of the late Thomas Laurie and Essie Mae (Owens) Gibson. She grew up on the family farm helping to raise animals, tobacco, and other crops with her father, siblings, and farm hands. As a young woman, she enjoyed indulging her first-born nieces and nephews and working at Ben Franklin’s in Leonardtown. Bernadette attended St. Mary’s Academy (class of ’55). She continued to wear her class ring and attended her 50th class reunion. In 1964, she married her husband of 58 years, Leon Ray Zimmerman. For 50 years, they lived in Bushwood in a house that Leon and her father built. They raised their six children here. During and after raising her own, she babysat numerous children and was a foster mother to over a half dozen more. A foster child who came to the family as a 13-year-old became a part of the family. Bernadette was active in the community for years. She played softball for Captain Sam’s in Bushwood and on several volleyball teams. Her dedications and volunteer work included directing the choir at Sacred Heart Church, leading the Bumble Bees 4-H club, working at Bethune Elementary School, coaching the Yellow Jackets softball and Bushwood Beavers T-ball teams, as well as assisting with the Sea Scouts Ship-548. She was active in the Chopticon Marching Band and Band Boosters for all the years her children participated. She had a lifelong group of schoolmates, friends, siblings, and dearly-loved cousins, with whom many gatherings and antics ensued over the decades. She loved musicals and attended several live productions. Painting and other crafts were her hobbies. Holiday and seasonal scenes often appeared in her large picture window. She had the fortune to travel to various U.S. states and European countries, Panama, and the Caribbean. She was very proud to have four of her children serve in the Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, and Marines. In May 2003, at the age of 66, she accomplished the long-held aspiration of going to college by earning two associate degrees from the College of Southern Maryland. Bernadette lived in her Bushwood home until July 2015 when she moved to Cedar Lane Senior Living Community in Leonardtown, MD. Her beloved cats Rascal and then Missy shared her apartment. A lover of all animals, she indulged in spoiling other resident cats and dogs. She participated in various activities such as gardening and arts and crafts. In 2018, she received a volunteer appreciation award from Cedar Lane. Lastly, each evening outside her apartment on the second floor, she and her group of wonderful friends and neighbors would gather and chat. Bernadette is survived by her daughters Anna (Mike Lyon), Caroline, and Alyssa Zimmerman, sons Kurt and Jason Zimmerman, and Shannon Riley (Melissa Freedman), sisters Mary (Betty) Williams and Helen Hewitt, brother MacGuire Gibson, and nine grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. She is preceded in death by her husband, former foster daughter Sharon Riley, parents, brothers Thomas Laurie, Jr., James (Jim), Francis, and Walter, and sister Rosaline Thorne. The family will receive friends on Tuesday, January 9, 2024 from 5:00-8:00 PM, with prayers at 7:00 PM, at the Mattingly-Gardiner Funeral Home, P.A., 41590 Fenwick St, Leonardtown, MD 20650. A funeral service and reception will be held on Wednesday, January 10, 2024 at 10:00 AM at Sacred Heart Church, 23080 Maddox Rd, Bushwood, MD 20618. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to St. Mary’s Animal Welfare League (SMAWL), P.O. Box 1232, Leonardtown, MD 20650, or Cedar Lane Senior Living Community, 22680 Cedar Lane Court, Leonardtown MD 20650 (https://www.cedar-lane.org/).