Helen Marie (Wolf) Zangl, age 91, of New Ulm died September 13, 2021, at Sleepy Eye Care Center.
Mass of Christian Burial will be 10:30 am on Saturday, October 9, 2021 at the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in New Ulm. Burial will follow in the New Ulm City Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 4-7 pm on Friday, October 8th at the Minnesota Valley Funeral Home-North Chapel in New Ulm, and continue from 9-10:30 am on Saturday at the Cathedral in New Ulm.
To leave an online condolence for her family, or to sign the guestbook, go to: mvfh.org
Helen Marie (Wolf) Zangl of Sleepy Eye (formerly New Ulm) is survived by her children, Jim and Janna Zangl of St. Paul; Ruth and Dave Mecklenburg of Sleepy Eye, Charles Zangl of Richfield; Marie and Mark Hippert of Owatonna, and Ann Johnson of River Falls, WI; brother and sister-in-law, William and Sharon Wolf of New Ulm; grandchildren Matt and Candace Mecklenburg, Pamela and Corey Ganser, Samantha and Brendan Clemente, Sadi and Jed Hunstad, Emmy and Kevin Landrum, Polly Zangl, Sara and Ken Beamish, Christopher Hippert, Kevin and Sarah Hippert, and Nathan Johnson; 15 great-grandchildren; and special family members Von and Lee Weber and Patty Suneson.
Helen was preceded in death by her loving husband, Leo Zangl; her parents, Edward and Alpha (Walters) Wolf; Leo’s parents, Frank and Ann (Deml) Zangl; sisters, Florence and Karen Wolf; brothers-in-law, Clifford and Delbert Zangl; sister-in-law, Myrtle Wolf; son-in-law, Jeffrey Johnson, daughter-in-love, Bobbi McCrea, and beloved granddaughters, Abby Wood and Savannah McCrea.
Helen was born May 5, 1930, to Edward and Alpha Wolf on the family farm near Morgan, Minnesota. She graduated valedictorian from Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s High School in 1947. Following graduation, Helen attended the nursing school at St. Teresa’s College in Winona, did nurses training at St. Mary’s Hospital in Rochester, and completed her training at Loretto Hospital in New Ulm, where she continued to work as an LPN. It was in New Ulm where Helen met the love her life, Leo Zangl, and they were united in marriage on September 15, 1952, at St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Morgan. After marriage they resided in New Ulm where they raised their five children. In March 2012, they moved to Sleepy Eye Countryside Apartments.
In order to be home more to raise her family, Helen left full time employment as a nurse. She worked with Brown County Mission18 where she provided family assistance in the community. After that employment ended due to budget cuts, she did part-time custodial work at Cathedral High School, where she was known as an (unofficial) counselor to many students. After that she became an admission/evaluation nurse at the Brown County Detox Center until her retirement at age 80.
Helen inspired her family and others by dealing with life’s many joys and hardships through her strong faith in God, devotion to the Serenity Prayer, and having a general no-nonsense approach to life. Until her later years, she was very involved with and served on many committees at Cathedral Parish. Helen served on the Parish Council for six years, was the Public Relations Chairperson for the CCW for six years (during which time she did the publicity for the entire New Ulm Diocese), coordinated several end-of-summer picnics for Brown County migrant families, and taught Religious Education for many years. In addition to her many church activities, Helen was also on the ground floor of the beginning of several New Ulm community organizations. She helped coordinate the Brown/Nicollet Daily Achievement Center and was on the committee that created the Concerned Citizens Against Drug Abuse in New Ulm. She was on the planning committee that formed the New Ulm Human Rights Commission, was the second President of the Commission and served on its board for ten years. As a result of her work with the New Ulm Referral and Information Service, she helped start the New Ulm Meals on Wheels program. Helen was also on the steering committee that started New Ulm’s Neighborhood Night Out project and served on its committee for 16 years.
Helen enjoyed having long talks with her children and grandchildren, doing all kinds of puzzles, playing cards, tinkering in her garden, loving all kinds of history, and was a well-known trivia expert. Helen was also a passionate reader. At her peak, when she wasn’t busy with church and community affairs or taking care of and playing with her many grandchildren and great grandchildren, you would usually find Helen reading a book. In fact, it was not unusual for her to be reading six books at a time, as well as having some type of puzzle in the works. As her health began to fade, Helen just enjoyed the company of her family. In her final days, she told us that she was blessed to have the love of so many while she was on this earth and that she was equally blessed to be looking forward to being with Leo and the other many deceased loved ones in the next life.
