In Memoriam – Herb Ziemer
Herbert “Herb” Rolf Ziemer, 83 died Saturday, July 21st at Kaiser Hospital in Santa Rosa from complications related to a stroke. Surrounded by family, Herb died peacefully in his sleep.
Born in Germany, Herb lived in England during World War II and then moved to the United States. He taught history and geography for over 30 years, most of which he spent at Comstock Jr High School in Santa Rosa.
A huge passion for Herb and eventually his family, was soccer, a sport which Herb was introduced to in England during World War II. After losing contact with the sport, he was reconnected when signing up oldest son Marcus to play in Rohnert Park. When he moved his family to Sebastopol there was no league, so he would start the Sebastopol Youth Soccer League in 1975. Over the next 40 years, Herb helped grow the sport of soccer in Sebastopol, outlying areas of Sonoma County, and Northern California. He would serve in many capacities over the years, including coach, manager, league president, and district commissioner amongst many other roles. He has been a visionary presence in NorCal Premier Soccer, which was started by his son Benjamin, since it’s inception. All twelve of Herb and Linda’s grandchildren have played in NorCal Premier.
Herb leaves his wife of 57 years, Linda Ziemer, son Marcus and daughter-in-law Trisha, daughter Heidi, son Andrew and daughter-in-law Shawna, son Benjamin and daughter-in-law Daniela, son Christopher and daughter-in-law Renee, and twelve grandchildren; Alexander, Tatjana, Spencer, Thomas, Logan, Taylor, Sally, Oliver, Tera, Gabriella, Lillian, and Ely. Herb also leaves family in Germany.
A celebration of Herb’s life will be held on Friday August 10th, 6:00pm at Sonoma Academy. Sonoma Academy is located at 2500 Farmers Lane, Santa Rosa, 95404.
In lieu of flowers, the family is asking that you consider a donation in Herb’s honor to one of the non-profit NorCal Premier youth soccer clubs in your area, or to Sonoma State University Men’s Soccer Program, where he enjoyed watching his sons coach and play.
According to his wife Linda, Herb really enjoyed being a part of NorCal Premier, whether that was helping organize and grow leagues or doing the same for the younger State Cup. “He loved everything he did over the years in NorCal,” said Linda. “He especially enjoyed supporting managers, teams, and clubs, and he absolutely loved meeting people at the events. It was also important to Herb to provide support to underserved groups or communities, whether that was a new club or area or a team or a club with limited resources,” added Linda. “Being involved in NorCal Premier was something he really valued.”
