- Date Of Birth: November 30, 1918
- Date Of Death: November 15, 2016
- State: Utah
Edie (Edith) Zimmer (Mueller) – 1918-2016
The bright light that was Edie, the lodestar of her family and friends, was extinguished on November 15th, 2016, just 15 days short of her 98th birthday. She ended her long, remarkable life as she had lived it – her way. She always said that when she was no longer able to live independently in her beautiful home overlooking the Salt Lake valley, she would give up the good fight. A few weeks after a serious injury put her into rehab, she did just that.
Edie was born on November 30th, 1918, in Basel, Switzerland to Max and Louise Zimmer. She was the second of three children, after Max Jr. and before Susie Yvonne. She met her future husband, Arthur, while working in her uncle’s architectural firm. After her marriage and the birth of her first child, she and Arthur followed her devout Mormon parents to Utah in 1948. There, at the foot of the Wasatch Range in Ogden, Edie raised five children to share her love of music, literature, and art. A wonderful soprano who often performed at church, she ensured that the home was filled with music and encouraged her children to play instruments. At meals she would read poetry to them from books like A Child’s Garden of Verses, and each child had a favorite. She took them to concerts and art museums, and taught them to be selfless by including them in her volunteer work assignments during their summer vacations.
In her 50’s, Edie’s marriage ended, and her new life as a questing free spirit began. She took a job, bought her own home, made lifelong friends in women’s studies at the University of Utah, joined anti-nuclear demonstrations in Nevada and peace marches in Washington DC, and wrote to politicians and editors demanding justice and reforms. She travelled frequently to Switzerland to renew her ties with her homeland and family there, delighting in visiting art museums, sailing the Swiss lakes, and hiking the mountains around her cousin’s chalet in Engelberg. She loved the history and cultures of Ireland, Greece, and Italy, and in her 70’s and 80’s made memorable visits there with her daughters.
