Obituary of Carl Zimet

Carl N. Zimet of Denver passed away on November 19, 2015. Carl was husband of Sara Zimet, father of Gregory (Lynne Sturm) Zimet and the late Andrew (Linda) Zimet, and grandfather of Patrick Zimet, Hannah Zimet, Adam (Amanda) Helgesen and Josh (Geralyn) Helgesen. Carl lived a remarkable life. He was born in Vienna, Austria on June 3, 1925. In 1938, his parents recognized the growing threat of Nazism and sent him to safety in England via the Kindertransport. He spent several years in England, surviving the Blitz, before he embarked on a harrowing trip across the Atlantic Ocean and was ultimately reunited with his parents (Leon and Gisela) and older brother (Joseph) in NYC. He served in the U.S. Navy, then attended Cornell University. While at Cornell, Carl met his future wife, Sara Goodman, and they were married in 1950. After finishing at Cornell, he received his doctorate in clinical psychology from Syracuse University, then left for a two-year postdoctoral fellowship in Palo Alto, CA. Upon completion of his postdoc, Carl, Sara, and their new baby, Andrew (born in 1954), moved to Albany, NY, where Carl worked at the V.A. Hospital. Carl and Sara’s second son, Gregory, was born in 1956, and the family moved that year to New Haven, CT, where Carl became a faculty member at Yale University. In 1963, Carl was recruited to become Chief of the Division of Clinical Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at University of Colorado School of Medicine. He became recognized locally and nationally as a gifted teacher, clinician, administrator, and advocate for clinical psychology. He served as President or Chair of several professional groups, including (but not limited to) the Society for Personality Assessment, the American Academy of Clinical Psychology, the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC), the National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology, and the Division of Psychotherapy of the American Psychological Association. Carl loved life with a passion. He was incredibly resilient and optimistic, had a wonderful sense of humor, cared deeply for his family, friends, and profession, and liked few things better than downhill skiing, which he did until age 86. He was a wonderful husband, father, grandfather, uncle, friend, mentor, and colleague and will be greatly missed. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Planned Parenthood of America or to The Anti-Defamation League.