Jasmine Ingeborg Zingler of Kendall died Thursday, July 15, 2010, at Tomah Memorial Hospital one month before her 101st birthday, which would have been Aug. 15.
She had been recuperating from a fall and broken leg at a local nursing home and was anxious to get back to her own home in Kendall. She got her wish but died unexpectedly from an internal aliment.
Jasmine was the daughter of John Johnson and Ingeborg (Quamme) Johnson. She was born on a farm near Stole, a railroad stop, because her father worked on the railroad at that time. She always said the water was good at Stole; it was full of minerals and it benefited her mother’s health. Soon after her birth, her family moved to the Johnson Homestead Farm near Kendall. She had a sister, Thelma, and four brothers, Herman, Leonard, Jake and William. Herman served in the Navy during World War I; and Leonard, as a chaplin in World War II.
Jasmine spent many hours recalling her childhood. She had fond memories of their good neighbors, who helped and watched out for each other. She loved picking flowers and berries, eating homemade bread and lefse, getting salt pork and sausage and all sorts of canned vegetables and fruit from their basement. She would describe how they worked in their gardens, the tobacco fields, and orchard and all about their farm and family celebrations. Everyone would come home for the Fourth of July, also her mother’s birthday, and Leonard would bring fireworks. Christmas was always special with lots of singing around the organ. It was a beautiful time with a board walk from the house to the barn lined with flowers, and sledding and sleigh rides in the winter. Her only complaint was the scary bulls that got always got loose and barred the way to Rocky Run School forcing a long detour. Jasmine has blessed us with a memory book that retells these family stories.
Her family attended Fountain Lutheran Church, a beautiful church a short distance from their home. Most of the members were Norwegian, and she was baptized and confirmed there while they still spoke the language during services. She never forgot the language and often used Norwegian phrases to emphasize a point she wanted to make.
She married Reinhardt Heuer in 1931. He was a mechanic and they lived in Kendall and had two children, Sara Bonnee and Reinhardt (Buddy) Heuer Jr. After his untimely death in 1940, she moved back to the Johnson homestead and raised her children while working as a butcher in grocery stores. She had many stories of getting home on snowy icy roads in her Maxwell navigating the Knutson Hill.
She also loved to recall when she worked at the Camp Williams PX during WWII. She would retell the stories she heard when the troops came to the store before leaving for Europe to fight in the war.
One day in 1948, Eric A. Zingler, while shopping at the Kendall grocery store where she worked, slipped a silver dollar in her apron pocket and asked her if she would go to the movies with him. She accepted. They were soon married by her brother Leonard (LK) Johnson, then a Lutheran pastor, at the home of her brother Herman and his wife in Elroy. Three years later, they had a son, Eric Jr. Unfortunately, Eric Sr. died 10 years later, but he got his wish to see his son’s tenth birthday.
Life was hard without Eric Sr., but Jasmine was full of life. One day with the help of Carl Schroeder of the Kendall Ford Garage, she bought a ’65 Mustang when Eric Jr. was 16. It still runs today under the care of granddaughter April Zingler.
Jasmine was a longtime member of St. John’s Lutheran Church. Her daughter Sara was married at the church; sons Buddy and Eric were baptized and confirmed there. In later years, she became a pillar in the community, known for her neighborly goodwill, motherly advice and good Christian example having endured many hardships and suffered many ailments on her journey to 101.
She is survived by a daughter, Sara Bonnee (Bennett) Anderson; two sons, Reinhardt Heuer and Eric (Kathie) Zingler; three grandchildren from Sara Bonnee: Shirley Anderson, Rebecca (Mike) Egan and Joseph (Kris) Anderson; and eight grandchildren from son Eric: Joy, Jasmine (Bryon) Bootman, Jane (Ken) Anderson, Jonathan, Amber, April, Aurora and Joseph Zingler. She also has one great-grandson from granddaughter Becky and husband Mike Egan: Andrew; three great-grandchildren from grandson Joseph and wife Kris: Ben, Alec and Rachel; three great-grandchildren from granddaughter Jasmine and her husband Bryon: Eleanor, Matthew and Sophia; and two great-grandchildren from granddaughter Jane and her husband Ken Anderson: Eva Joy and Elizabeth. She is also survived by her nephews, Jerry (Naomi) Johnson, John (Phyllis) Johnson and Clarence Johnson; and her nieces, Grace (Ray) Gerhke and Eula (Jim) Brown.
Jasmine wanted to be cremated and did not want a regular funeral, so a brief celebration of her life will be incorporated into the St. John’s Lutheran Church service at 9 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 15, the date of her 101st birthday. After a brief reception at the church hall, her cremations will be interned at the Glendale Cemetery. Grandson Jonathan summed up her good cooking and life when he said, “It was always Thanksgiving with Grandma!”
