Gaylene Zimmer, born May 1st, 1948, to parents Frank and Allie Buchanan of Spruce Pine, North Carolina, died on December 11th, 2022 at Beacon House in Greensboro NC.
Gaylene attended A-B Tech Community College and took night classes while working full-time. After raising her children in Asheville, North Carolina, Gaylene made a career at Newport News as a designer of defensive aircraft carriers and nuclear submarines. Upon retirement, she moved to Greensboro, North Carolina to be near family. Gaylene was a proponent of social justice and often donated her time and resources to various political and social causes. Gaylene was a magnificent writer and frequently wrote letters to the editor and opinion pieces in her local newspaper. She shall always be remembered for her brilliant mind, her irreverent sense of humor, and her loving heart.
Gaylene is preceded in death by her parents Allie and Frank Buchanan, and she is survived by her husband Terry Zimmer of Greensboro NC, children Sharon Colvard and Shannon Sowell (Robert), four grandchildren Caroline and Cade Colvard, and Parker and Harrison Sowell as well as stepdaughter Angie Grevey and children Connor, Katie and Chase. Also left to cherish her memory are her siblings and their spouses, Brenda Callaway (Bill), Donnie Buchanan (Judy), Michael Buchanan, Keith Buchanan (Gail), and sister-in-law Jodi Quinn.
In lieu of a funeral service, Gaylene will have a party to celebrate her life in the spring, one full of smiles, laughs, and stories told in her memory.
In lieu of flowers donations in her honor can be made to either Planned Parenthood or Hospice of Greensboro.