Honorary Dean

2015 Honorary Dean

Ralph Zimmerman was deeply committed to community service and active in many organizations throughout his life. However, the Christiansburg Volunteer Fire Department was his true passion. 

Ralph joined the Christiansburg Volunteer Fire Department in 1951. He became Assistant Chief in 1958 and Chief of the department in 1968.  He was the longest serving chief of the department and the longest serving member, having been active for 63 of the department’s 66-year history. 

 He also was involved in county fire services lending his time and talent as one of the founding members and President of the Champaign County Fire Association and the Fire Chief’s Association.   His leadership led to the funding that secured the first ambulance units that were placed in Champaign County by the State of Ohio.

The fire service was not only important to Ralph, but to his entire family. His wife, Helen Markley Zimmerman, was a charter member of the Fire Department Ladies Auxiliary organization and worked to support local volunteers and raise funds for the fire department.  In addition, five of their sons served on the Christiansburg fire department and their son, David, is the retired fire chief of the neighboring town of St. Paris.  Both Ralph and his wife instilled in their children, by deed and action, the familiar passage by Francis of Assisi ….. “For it is in giving that we receive.”

In the spirit of generosity demonstrated by their parents, the family established the Zimmerman-Markley Community Scholarship at Bowling Green State University in 2007. The scholarship provides crucial financial support for fire and rescue volunteers for certification and ongoing professional development at State Fire School. Because the Zimmerman-Markley Community Scholarship fund is endowed, it will provide scholarships for many years to come and become part of the legacy of generosity and community service that defined this extraordinary man and his family.