Constance Zimmerman was the 1948 Valedictorian of Fort Loramie High School. She dedicated her life to the service of others first when she joined the order of the Medical Mission Sisters later in 1948, then made her vows to the sisterhood in 1951. A brilliant student, she studied pharmacy and pre-med at George Washington University, Catholic University and the University of Maryland. She earned her medical degree from Georgetown University, where she specialized in surgery.
After completing her internship at Misericordia Hospital in Philadelphia, Penn., and a four-year surgical residency at City Hospital in St. Louis, Mo., she moved to Patna, India in 1965, as a diplomat of the American Board of Surgery. Here she was the first sister/doctor to be so highly specialized in surgery. She was appointed chief of surgery at Kurji Holy Family Hospital, and in 1966 was made chief of the medical staff of a 200-bed general hospital.