William Zimmerman, who joined American Banker as a copy editor after graduating from Queens College in the early 1960s and rose to serve as editor-in-chief from 1980 to 1989, died Sunday at the age of 82.

John Reosti of American Banker writes, “Zimmerman, who was 82, led American Banker during a decade that witnessed both the Savings and Loan Crisis and the growth of nonbank financial services providers. Inside the newsroom, Zimmerman mentored a generation of young reporters. Indeed, those who worked with Zimmerman remember him as the opposite of the grizzled newsman who has become a media archetype.

“‘He was a warm, generous, kind-hearted man who genuinely cared about how I was doing in my career,’ Barbara Rehm, who joined American Banker’s Washington Bureau in 1987, later rising to serve as editor-in-chief, said Tuesday. ‘He had an aura about him that emanated kindness. You felt from across the room. It was that substantial.’

“‘I’m so grateful for the mentorship and promotion of my career Bill Zimmerman gave me,’ Rehm added.”

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