Colleen Anne Zimmerman

Colleen Anne Zimmerman (nee Murphy), age 77, loving wife to Eugene "Gene" Zimmerman for 34 years until his death, passed away after a long battle with health problems. She fought the fight and was the epitome of strength, fighting heart issues and cancer.

Colleen was considered to be family by so many because of her loving and giving heart and desire to serve family and friends any way she could. She was always ready and willing to do whatever was needed to better the organizations she was active in.

Colleen’s Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners were always an epic extravaganza. She loved having her family and friends join for food and fun. Their house was always packed to overflowing, and she loved it, even when in later years it would totally wear her out. She loved her family and she will always be remembered that way.

She leaves behind her brother Scott Murphy (Toni) of Arizona; sons Daniel Blevins and Brian Head; stepdaughter Sharla Plumlee (Jeff), foster son Carlos Adams; grandchildren TracyAnne, Keith, Ashlynn, Samantha, and Zachary; four great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her husband Eugene Zimmerman, parents Warren and Z. Virginia Murphy, sister Cheryle Biedler (Douglas), brother John Murphy (Kathy), and foster daughter Carrie O'Brien (David).

Colleen grew up in and around Everett, WA. She went to schools in Everett, Stanwood, Bothell, and Lake Stevens.  After her marriage to Gene, they loved to travel in the travel trailers and eventually the motorhome. Their honeymoon trip was to Grants Pass, Oregon to ride the jet boats on the Rogue River with HellGate Excursions. This became an annual outing with family and friends. Colleen became familiar to the HellGate Excusions employees and earned the name Big Red, because she would stand in the river as the boats went by wearing a red shirt and using squirt guns to spray the boat passengers. She became so well-known and respected by the employees that she and Gene were presented with a plaque recognizing them after twenty-five years of riding the boats.

Colleen and Gene also were very involved with the Gold Mining Community in Washington and she was very good friends with many of the Gold Mining members on many of the television gold mining programs on Discovery Channel. She was very active for many years in the Bedrock Prospectors Club in Washington and was membership chair for 12-13 years. She loved the campouts and the gold shows where she was always ready to give free hugs to the gold mining community.