MEDIA CONTACTS:
Angela Olson, [email protected]
The George Washington University
Chita Middleton, [email protected]
The Textile Museum
Washington, D.C.—The Textile Museum mourns the passing of Edwin M. Zimmerman, former president of The Textile Museum Board of Trustees, who passed away on Saturday, October 6, 2012 at his home. A partner at Covington and Burling practicing in antitrust law since 1969, a published poet, and a carpet aficionado, Mr. Zimmerman was 88.
An avid rug collector, Zimmerman was the President of the Board of Trustees of The Textile Museum from 1986 until 1996. Following his retirement, Mr. Zimmerman was named Trustee Emeritus to the museum in recognition of his contributions. He also received the TM’s Award of Distinction in 2008.
Bruce P. Baganz, president of the Textile Museum Board of Trustees, said of the late Mr. Zimmerman: “Ed was a devoted supporter of The Textile Museum and its mission to expand knowledge of the artistic merit and cultural importance of the world’s textiles. It was under his tireless leadership as board president that the institution made considerable advances in strengthening its best practices in museum operations. Today, following Ed’s initiatives, The Textile Museum’s professionalism is exemplary in the museum field. The entire TM board and staff express their heartfelt condolences to his family for their loss.”
Mr. Zimmerman was born in New York, New York to immigrant parents, Tobie Fuchs Zimmerman and Benjamin Zimmerman, who came to the U.S. as a 12 year-old with a sewing machine hanging from his neck, and made a living as a tailor in New York’s Garment District. Zimmerman received his LLB from Columbia University Law School in 1949, served clerk to Supreme Court Justice Stanley Reid, was a professor at Stanford University Law School, and Assistant Attorney General, Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. He was a Founding Trustee of the Natural Resources Defense Council, member of the Council of the Administrative Conference of the United States, the Manufacturing Studies Board, National Academy of Science, and the Washington Textile Group. He was also a poet, and was a member of the Capitol Hill Poetry Group and Folger Shakespeare Library’s Poetry Board.
An obituary for Mr. Zimmerman is available in The Washington Post.