Gwendolyn E. Zimmerman and Theresa Zimmerman

Robert Zimmerman, whom everyone called “Clinton” or “Clint”, was a teenager when he met Temperence. They married young. Temperance was 17 and out of high school. Robert was attending Wofford College, in Spartanburg, SC. They had three daughters: Gwendolyn (April 27, 1918), Theresa (November 8, 1919) and Roberta (November 25, 1921). The family moved to Aberdeen, NC in the early 1930s. Robert became the principal of Aberdeen High School.

Gwen graduated high school and headed off to the Women’s College of the University of NC. (Now UNC-G) She was 14 years old. Yes, she began college at the age of 14. Gwen waited tables while in college to help pay for her education. Her sisters graduated from Aberdeen High School and followed her to UNC-G. Gwen and Teresa went the business school / secretarial / bookkeeping route while Roberta preferred the sciences.

The three sisters all later returned to Aberdeen. Theresa returned due to life-threatening health issues that began in her twenties. Roberta returned to work at the hospital in Pinehurst (now Moore Regional Hospital) and to help look after Theresa. Gwen returned to Aberdeen and worked for the Ford Motor Company until she retired. Gwen and Theresa lived with their parents. Roberta, her husband, and daughter lived in the house right next door. The family believed that education was paramount however, they also believed that Christian education was equally important. Living a Christian life was important.

Gwen and Teresa Zimmerman came together in 1998 to create the Robert and Temperence Zimmerman Scholarships in honor of their parents. When Teresa died in 2007 she had left an estate gift to establish a scholarship fund in her sister’s name, the Gwendolyn E. Zimmerman Memorial Endowed Scholarships. Likewise when Gwen passed in 2008 she left an estate gift to create the Theresa Zimmerman Endowed Scholarship Fund.