Sharene (Shari) L. Zimmerman nee Swab went home to be with the Lord on Thursday, July 27, 2023, at the Community General Osteopathic Hospital in Harrisburg at the age of 77.

She was born on Thursday, Sept. 27, 1945, to the late William B. Swab and Betty L. Swab nee Markley in Altoona, Pennsylvania.

Growing up in Foot of Ten in a log cabin began her love of the outdoors and especially of animals. There was never a stray cat or dog that she wouldn’t stop to rescue.

Shari graduated from nursing school after her years at Hollidaysburg High School (class of 1963) and went on to become a Licensed Practical Nurse. She worked for many years at Evangelical Congregational Church Retirement Village in Myerstown, caring for her patients with love and compassion.

After retirement, Shari enjoyed her horses at home and on the trails. She loved finding new trails to explore with her friends and spoiling her horses and goats with apples and carrots. Nobody could care for her animals with more love and joy than Shari.

In addition to her horses and animals, Shari also enjoyed swimming and caring for her sprawling flower gardens filled with annuals and perennials. Her Brown-Eyed Susans and Coneflowers were a joy to everyone who drove by Sunnyside Rd.

Shari was a member of Myerstown Christian Fellowship Church. She came to faith in Jesus Christ when she was a child at Foot of Ten Bible Church under Pastor Glenn Yeckley, and she held fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.

Shari is survived by her beloved husband, Gerald L. Zimmerman; children, Tim Stevens (Sharon Shaw Stevens) and Laurie Smith (Michael Smith); grandchildren, Matthew Stevens, Sara Stevens, Melanie Smith, and Victoria Smith; brother, Tim Swab (Kathy McCormick Swab); nieces, Jennifer (Swab) Mejan, Garnet (Swab) Goldman, and Loralee (Swab) McDonald; and step-children, Michelle (Zimmerman) Auman and Matthew Zimmerman.

She was preceded in life eternal by her parents; and her brother and sister-in-law, William C. and Amy (Stewart) Swab.

Funeral services will be held at Christman’s Funeral Home, Inc., 226 Cumberland St., Lebanon, on Saturday, Aug. 5, 2023. Visitation will begin at 1:00 p.m., followed by a Memorial service at 2 p.m. Burial will take place following the service at New Union Cemetery in Myerstown.

The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations can be made in memory of Shari to Take Heart Counseling and Equine Assisted Therapy, 699 Wooltown Rd., Wernersville, PA 19565. https://www.takeheartcounseling.com/.