Chaim H. Zimbalist, a prominent attorney and former Missouri state legislator, died on November 27, 2015 in New Jersey, where he had lived since 2010.  Zimbalist represented the 4^th Legislative District of St. Louis County, serving in the 68^th and 69^th General Assemblies.  He was the first Jew and the first Democrat elected from that District, and the only first-termer ever awarded the chairmanship of a sub-committee (the sub-committee of Probation and Parole).   

During his tenure in public office, Zimbalist introduced and enacted a wide range of statutes including those that established Division 7 and Division 8 of the St. Louis County Circuit Court; authorized testamentary disposition of bodies to medical schools and hospitals; mandated stricter requirements for better patient care in nursing homes; and authorized Suspended Imposition of Sentence.  

Zimbalist’s law practice spanned more than six decades, during which time he was a confidant of, and advisor to, Governors, U.S. Senators and U.S. Congressmen.  He presented testimony in the U.S. House of Representatives hearing on Electoral College Reform in 1969. 

Chaim Herman Zimbalist was born in St. Louis on May 3, 1928.  He was a 1944 graduate of Soldan High School.  He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II earning an honorable discharge in 1946.  He is survived by Marilyn Zimbalist, his wife of 60 years, two sons, Michael and Morris Zimbalist, a daughter Alisa Zimbalist Levine and seven grandchildren.  

Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, December 1 at 10:30am at Congregation B’nai Amoona, 324 South Mason Road, Creve Coeur, MO 63141.