Arnold Zimmel

Arnold "Arnie" William Zimmel, age 61, of Waconia, Minnesota formerly of Wheaton, Minnesota passed away Wednesday, September 16, 2015. A Graveside Service (open to the public) will be held Saturday, September 26, 2015 at 1:00 p.m. at Wildwood Cemetery in Wheaton with Fr. John Paul Celebrant. A lunch and time of sharing will be held at Falk Park following the graveside service. A Funeral Service was held Sunday, September 20, 2015 at 6:00 p.m. at Kozlak-Radulovich Funeral Home in Maple Grove, Minnesota. Arnold was born June 6, 1954 in Breckenridge, Minnesota to Clarence and Elizabeth Zimmel Sr. He was raised on a dairy farm along with two brothers and two sisters. Needless to say, he was not very fond of the dairy cows, so when he graduated Wheaton High School in 1972 he took advantage of getting out on his own. Arnie married Bette Ascher fifteen years ago on the North Shore near Lutsin, Minnesota. He worked numerous jobs around Wheaton; loading flax straw on semis, working for the local farmers, and later road construction. While in Wheaton he roomed with many friends and kept those friendships throughout life. He eventually landed a job with Ames Construction where he worked 37 ½ years. When he worked for Ames he started out as a scraper operator and eventually became a foreman. Construction work took him to the states of North Dakota, Colorado, Wisconsin and Minnesota, with the majority of work being in the Metro area. Arnie loved walleye fishing, hunting, motorcycles, spending time with friends and watching football. In his younger years Arnie took many fishing trips to Canada and also enjoyed ice fishing in the winter. He also enjoyed goose and pheasant hunting, slug hunting in the Wheaton area, and in his later years acquired a taste for bow hunting. Bette and Arnie spent many nice weekends at their home on Mille Lacs Lake, and later made their home in Waconia, Minnesota. Arnie is survived by his wife Bette of Waconia; three children: Shelby (David) Howe of Zimmerman, Minnesota; Michael (Karla) Ascher of Alma, Colorado; and Sara Ascher of Howard Lake, Minnesota; seven grandchildren: Dreydn, Ethan, Lukin, Gavin, Hunter, Addison and Ellie; two brothers: Clarence (Jean) Zimmel and Leonard (Diane) Zimmel both of Wheaton; two sisters: Mildred (John) Simonson of Elizabeth, Minnesota and Loretta (Jim) Neuman of Wadena, Minnesota; and many nieces and nephews. Arnie was preceded in death by his parents.