Mike Zimmers was a giant among the teachers and administrators he mentored, the junior high students he taught and, most of all, the kindergarteners he tutored.
At 6 foot, 6 inches tall, he towered over most everyone he met.
But among his peers, his stature wasn’t measured in inches but in his keen intellect and caring disposition.
“He brought laughter and joy into the room. Everybody on the (school) board, myself included, considered him a friend because you knew you could always reach out to him and ask for anything, and he and or his wife would be there to support District 186,” said Jennifer Gill, superintendent of Springfield Public Schools.
He died in his sleep at age 72, presumedly of a cardiac issue, his wife, Nancy, told Illinois Times.
During his 37 years in public education, he worked as a special education teacher, a principal, a central office administrator and finally, a school board member.
Gill said Zimmers’ empathy made him stand out.
“He always had a smile on his face. If it was a particularly hard board meeting or we had a hard family situation or parent situation or even a staff situation, he always called and checked up on me the next day and would just make sure I was grounded and feeling OK. He would do that with fellow board members as well,” she said.
Zimmers earned a master’s in educational administration at University of Illinois Springfield and a bachelor’s at the now-defunct MacMurray College, where he was basketball captain his senior year. In 2014, he was named to MacMurray’s Athletic Hall of Fame, having held the all-time single season rebound record.
He moved to Springfield, working as a behavior disorder teacher for 13 years at Washington, Feitshans and Grant Middle schools, and coaching girls’ and boys’ basketball and track.
“He taught middle school. Always, middle school,” Nancy Zimmers recalled. “He never taught any other grade level. He had a special talent with that grade level. He had such a great connection with kids, and he always saw the good in kids. And even a kid who was struggling, he could see past the struggle and see a solution or see the good or maybe even see the hurt and figure out how to help a kid. He was amazing.”
He was named principal at Jefferson Middle School in 2005, where he served for three years. In 2009, he was recruited to work as a managing principal for three years and he retired in 2011.
When he ran for Springfield School Board in 2013, his campaign slogan was “I’m in it for our kids because our kids come first!” He served nine-and-a-half years on the school board, including three terms as president and three as vice president.
Zimmers also served on the One Sangamon Schools group, which organized a countywide school tax referendum that successfully passed a sales tax increase in 2018, benefitting nine county school districts.
“That was one reason he stayed on the board for another two years, because he wanted to see some of the buildings actually come into fruition,” Nancy Zimmers said.
While serving on the school board, he volunteered at Enos Elementary School.
“He would volunteer mostly in our kindergarten classrooms, but one year he did volunteer in a first-grade classroom,” Claudia Johnson, the school’s principal, said.
“The ‘Gentle Giant’ is what the students would call him. They would always look forward to seeing him. … He was a very tall guy and the funny thing about him is that when he would volunteer in those classrooms, he wanted to sit in the student seats.
So, no matter how tall he was, he would get down to their level. And, of course, his knees would be almost up to his chin. But they would just get the biggest kick out of him sitting right next to them, listening to stories and participating.”
Johnson said a remarkable thing about Zimmers was how he interacted with all of the employees in the building.
“He supported everyone,” she said. “Although he was here for the children, of course, he supported the teachers in the classrooms that he was in. … I’ve got to tell you, he and his wife would always go out and make sure teachers have bagels. You know, teachers need food and they love to eat. And so, he would support them by bringing in food.”
When he visited her school, she said Zimmers made a point of speaking not only to teachers but to the school secretary, custodians, cafeteria workers and others.
“He would walk through the halls and take the time to listen to people when they talked. And you always knew he was right there, trying to make sure we had the best.”
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This article appears in Remembering 2022.
