Dear Sam,
As Marge said, "Leo's three loves were his family, the USS PROVIDENCE, and
his career in law enforcement."
Very sincerely,
Al Olsen
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Subject: Days of Glory and the wind at our backs... God Bless
From: TREYZIM3@cs.com
Date: Wed, 11 Sep 2002 23:47:03 EDT

Dear Friends:

Today, the family of The USS Providence lost a shipmate. A wife lost a
husband. A family lost a father. The world lost a friend and a shining
example of how a man should live his life. Today Seaman First Class Leo
Zimmer (CL-82 Sept/46-June/48) lost a three year battle with cancer.

There were three things that defined Leo's character; His commitment to his
country and the Navy, his love for his wife and family and the dedication he
had to his career as a police officer. He spoke of all three with pride.
The kind of pride that made people feel as though they were a part of the
stories that he told.

When I asked how he felt about his battle with cancer, he told me "I've never
backed away from a fight in my life... and I'm not about to back away from
this one.". One month ago, the doctors delivered the bad news that the cancer
had spread from his lungs to his brain. After several tests, and meetings
with specialists, it was his decision to continue the fight, despite the
doctors prognosis that he may only live another 2-3 months. He made this
decision for two reasons. He and his wife Marge were set to celebrate their
fiftieth wedding anniversary in February of next year, and he badly wanted to
see his old shipmates one more time at the reunion in October.

Unfortunately, he will attain neither of these goals. But if you knew the
man, then you know that these unattained goals are not his loss but OURS. We
will miss him greatly, but we find comfort in knowing that the world is
better place because he lived in it.

For those of you that new Leo was fighting cancer, we thank you for your
prayers, cards, e-mails and well wishes over the past 3 years. He truly drew
strength from them. It meant a lot to him to know that people that he cared
for so much, cared for him as well.

Sincerely,

The Zimmer Family