Zim died April 7, 2017, in Scranton, Pa., his home of many years. Known to all as “The Colonel,” he was born in Yoakum, Texas. The only child in an Army family, he came to Princeton from the Texas Military Institute. At Princeton, he majored in chemistry and took his meals at Dial Lodge. He was a member of the band, the Catholic Club, ROTC, the Pistol Club, and the Chemical Club.

Zim served as an Army officer in the Chemical Corps for 30 years, emerging as a colonel. He earned a master’s degree at Princeton in 1951. With the 86th Infantry Division, he served in the Ruhr Pocket and in Bavaria, followed by service in the Pacific in the forces headed for Japan at the time of the surrender, and then a post-war stint in the Philippines. In subsequent years he was posted in many places — including Stuttgart — and ended his career as professor of military science at the University of Scranton, which he served as registrar after his retirement from the Army.

Devout Catholics, Zim and Patricia had 13 children, 19 grandchildren, and probably close to a battalion of great-grandchildren, all of who survive him. He is interred at Arlington National Cemetery.