(Hank) Moorehouse 1934 – 2011 - The Society of American Magicians

BROKEN WANDS
William E. (Bill) King
The magic world lost one of its premier collectors on May 12, 2011, when William
E. (Bill) King Jr., eighty-five, of Hagerstown, Maryland, passed on. Bill held membership
#4145 and had been a continuous member of The Society of American Magicians for
sixty-four years. He was also a member of the I.B.M. and the Magic Circle. He was a
co-founder of Ring #94, Hagerstown, a Ring that bears his name, “King Magic Ring.”
Bill led a long and productive life. He served his country during WWII in the
European Theater and was awarded the Bronze Star. He was a 1943 graduate of
Hagerstown High School, and was a graduate of the University of Maryland and the
Stonier Graduate School of Banking at Rutgers University. He retired from Hagerstown
Trust and Mid Atlantic Bancorp as President and CEO.
Bill King was not only a great contributor to the magic world, having written several
books on magic history, but his generosity was surpassed by no one. At least four times over the past five or six
years Bill prepared a grocery bag of magic from his collection for every member of Ring 94, making sure each
bag was filled with the particular type of magic each member was interested in.
Bill King will be missed by all who knew him, and especially by his family and members of the Hagerstown
Magic community. —David W. Bowers
Leonard J. Elmer
Dr. Leonard J. Elmer Sr., retired dentist, born in Hammond, Louisiana, on May 8,
1917, and a native of New Orleans, died on June 6, 2011, after complications following
open heart surgery. His death was unexpected; he had anticipated taking trips to
Russia, Dallas, Orlando, and Las Vegas with his family this summer. His will to live life
to the fullest was exemplified in his daily activities and involvement in the community.
He was a graduate of Jesuit High School (1933) and Loyola University (1938). He
was a full-time instructor at the Loyola University Dental School from 1938-1942. He
was attending medical school prior to being pulled to teach dentistry full-time during
WW II.
He devoted himself to his two children and his wife, Beverly (also a USAF officer)
and was the epitome of what a father should be. He was a life member of the New
Orleans, Louisiana, and American Dental Associations.
His life-long interest in conjuring kept him very active and engaged in magic. He was a member of The Society
of American Magicians and the International Brotherhood of Magicians. He has been awarded the Order of
Merlin Excelsior by the I.B.M. He also recently reunited with Ring 27 of New Orleans. He was known as an avid
photographer and has gone to great lengths to get the “perfect shot.”
He loved his wife dearly and her loss in 2007 affected him profoundly. Despite his loss, he continued to care
for his granddaughter, Sarah, with whom he lived and shared his wisdom and love for life and magic with her.
His loss cannot be measured and his contribution to his family is profound. His legacy of love, life, and gusto for
making every day count are remembered by his actions.
Kim M. Zimmerman
Kim M. Zimmerman, 56, of Orangeville, Illinois, passed away Tuesday, June 21, 2011,
at St. Anthony Medical Center in Rockford, Illinois. Kim was born February 10, 1955,
in Freeport, Illinois, to Raymond and Cheryl Zimmerman.
Kim attended National Technical Institute for the Deaf in Rochester, New York
from 1975 to 1978, studying architecture. He worked for a small architectural business
for five years. Kim then worked at O’Hare International Airport as a mailer handler
from 1984 until retiring in 2010. He loved his Dalmatians: Donnie, Max, and Angel,
who was deaf. Kim was interested in many things including reading, history, and travel.
Kim had been a member of the S.A.M. and the I.B.M. since 1976. He was a Life
Member of both organizations. He was member of the World Deaf Magicians had
participated in WDM Festivals in different countries since 1992. He founded the first
U.S. – Canada Deaf Magicians Festival in Chicago in 1993. He loved to do his magic in
schools, churches, nursing homes, clubs, other festivals.
24 M-U-M Magazine