Re: Bob Zimmerman - RIP

Posted by BH On 2023/11/30 10:08:24

This is a tremendous loss to the Packard hobby. Bob was the most knowledgeable collector and seller of Packard literature that I ever met. He also donated a large collection of Packards ads to this site.

My first dealing with Bob was back in the 70s, shortly after I discovered my father's retired 56 Executive hardtop sitting in a field. After seeing his ad in Cars & Parts magazine, I wrote to inquire about a sales brochure, which would be my first Packard purchase. To my delight, the brochure that Bob sent bore the ink stamp of the dealer, Bell Motors, where my dad worked and purchased the car, brand-new.

It would be a good 15 years before I actually met Bob at his table at the wonderful Perrysburg meet and told him about that coincidence.

Any time he spotted me at a swap meet, he would walk right up and shake my hand like he had known me forever. One year at Hershey, he asked, "by the way, what club do you belong to?" When I replied, "PAC", he replied "well I belong to PI - I shouldn't even be talking to you." Knowing he belonged to both clubs, we both bust out laughing. Nicest guy in the hobby.

Godspeed Bob Zimmerman.