Young chef delivers Christmas meals in honor of mom
MARS — While most families enjoy a mirthful holiday season surrounded by smiling loved ones, those struggling with a cancer diagnosis may find it difficult to contend with all the chores and tasks that come with Christmas.
Mars native Joshua Zimmerman decided to do something about that this year.
Zimmerman, who is an accomplished chef, prepared 11 holiday meals with all the trimmings and delivered them to area families affected by the disease that took the life of his mother, Viola Zimmerman, in the summer of 2016.
“She always loved the holidays and all the food,” Zimmerman said, “so I thought it would be nice.”
He prepared the meals on Friday in the kitchen at the Middlesex Township Volunteer Fire Company's reception hall.
He said the fire company donated the facilities and even provided poinsettias to be delivered with the meals.
Ham, scalloped potatoes, garden salad, cookies and cupcakes were delivered to 11 area homes by Zimmerman on Friday evening and Saturday.
“They're all precooked,” Zimmerman said. “All they have to do is warm them up.”
He said his Facebook friends Morgan Triska and Patti Matthews saw Zimmerman's plan on the social media site and enlisted their families to come help Zimmerman out at the fire hall.
“Patti's daughter just got off a plane from Arizona and came straight to the fire hall,” Zimmerman said. “They worked with me all day, from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.”
He said he was surprised and delighted to have the help from the virtual strangers.
“I think they really do care about their neighbors,” Zimmerman said. “It's still a tight-knit community around here.”
He said he delivered the meals to the families that he heard were dealing with a cancer diagnosis, lost a family member to cancer or are recent cancer survivors.
One of those recipients was Nancy McCormick of Mars, who completed treatment in 2015 for breast cancer.
She and her husband, Gary, twinkled more brightly than the lights on their Christmas tree when Zimmerman showed up with the meal and poinsettia.
“He's an amazing young man, so generous,” McCormick said. “I think this is an amazing thing he's doing.”McCormick is a longtime auxiliary member with the Adams Area Fire District, and has organized and prepared meals for fire district events for decades.She has also prepared meals for various functions over the years at her church, St. John's Lutheran in Mars.“I'm overwhelmed,” McCormick said. “I'm usually the one making things for people. I'm not accustomed to being on the receiving end.”The McCormicks plan to take the dinner to their son's home in Economy, Beaver County, on Christmas Day.McCormick recalled receiving radiation treatments at UPMC Passavant at the same time Viola Zimmerman had her treatments.The pair supported and encouraged one another as they received their treatments.McCormick said Viola, who was just 55, would be very proud of her son and his penchant for generosity and caring.“I'm just very, very appreciative,” she said.
