Follow the trail of sunflower seeds, and you’d likely find Harold “Hersh” Zimmerman at the other end.
“Everybody knew him by his sunflower seeds,” said Norma Zimmerman, his wife of 61 years. The sunflower seed–munching habit started in the 1950s, when he quit smoking cigarettes cold turkey after reading an article in Reader’s Digest linking cigarettes to cancer.
“He had a stubborn feistiness,” said his daughter, Marilyn Zimmerman. “He took his cigarettes and threw them in the toilet and never had another one. But he picked up sunflower seeds and never stopped chewing.”
Sunflower seeds might have been his most visible quirk, but by no means were they his most visible trademark. The lifelong San Francisco resident was known for being a loyal friend, a successful and honest businessman and an exuberant presence in any room, his family said.
Hersh, as he was known to his friends (or Hershey, to his wife) died Feb. 7 after a 15-year battle with Parkinson’s Disease. He was 84 years old.
Hersh Zimmerman was born in San Francisco and lived in the city his entire life. He grew up in an Orthodox household until his father, intent on being Jewish and American in equal parts, joined a Conservative synagogue instead.
From that point on, Hersh Zimmerman was closely involved in San Francisco’s Congregation Beth Sholom, serving as the synagogue’s president, treasurer and vice president.
“My dad wasn’t religious, but he was spiritual,” Marilyn Zimmerman said. “He sat with me before he died and he said, ‘You know, I don’t know what I believe. But we’re Jewish, and we have customs that go back thousands of years, and it’s really important to maintain those customs and follow our tradition.’ ”
Marilyn joked that her father’s first love was his wife — and his second love was the Ideal Paint Company, which he grew from a small corner store to the top wholesale paint distributor in Northern California, according to the family.
“He was a workaholic,” Marilyn recalled. “On Sundays, you could find him in front of the TV doing invoices. He was very dedicated, and yet he would drop everything if anyone called needing something.”
The store was on the corner of Lombard and Steiner in San Francisco’s Marina District. Zimmerman quickly became known as a businessman who universally treated people with respect and would give anybody a second chance.
“He would hire alcoholics and those who just got out of prison — people who other people wouldn’t hire — and he’d give them a chance,” Marilyn said. “You know that old Jewish saying, that if you save one life you save the world? Well, my dad saved a lot of lives.”
As his company became more successful, he began to give to numerous Jewish and community philanthropies, including Bay Area Jewish education agencies and the University of Judaism in Los Angeles.
Zimmerman had numerous hobbies. He loved to fish, travel and spend time at his family’s summer home in Boyes Hot Springs, where he would often pick corn and make pickles. He was a good cook known for making an especially good breakfast.
“He also adored being with people,” Marilyn said. “You’d bring him to a party, he’d light up. And he remembered everyone’s names.”
When he was younger, he had a motorcycle, which he loved and rode often even though his wife hated it. He also enjoyed hiking, swimming and music. He and his wife always had season tickets to the San Francisco Opera.
“He was a very sweet guy. We were married 61 years, and I would have been very happy for another 61 years,” Norma Zimmerman said.
Hersh Zimmerman is survived by his wife, Norma Zimmerman, his children, Marilyn and Gary Zimmerman, his son-in-law Robert Nickel, and his grandchildren, Sam and Gabe Nickel.
Funeral services were held Feb. 10 at the Home of Peace Chapel in Colma. Donations in Zimmerman’s memory can be made to Congregation Beth Sholom, 301 14th Ave., San Francisco, CA, 94118; Jewish Family and Children’s Services, 2150 Post St., San Francisco, CA, 04115; or the National Parkinson Foundation, 1501 NW 9th Ave., Miami, FL, 33136.