Helen Zinsli

Helen Zinsli died on Monday, February 14th, 2023, one week shy of her 100th birthday. Daughter of Mathias and Mary (Poss) Althoff, she was born on February 21st, 1923 on a farm near Mooreton, ND. Helen was a gentle, kind soul who loved animals, both wild and domestic. In the late 1940s Helen met her future husband, Louis Zinsli, who, at the time, was attending the North Dakota State School of Science in Wahpeton, ND. In 1954 they were married and moved to Alexandria, Minnesota, where they operated the taxi cab business in town for the next 17 years. They raised a family of four children, Luann, Steven, Catherine, and Kenneth. The family attended The Church of Saint Mary in Alexandria, where parish involvement was a central part of the family’s life. Helen was an active member of the Daughters of Isabella. In 2016 Helen lost Louie, her beloved husband of 52 years, to a long series of illnesses. In the last year of her life she lived with her daughter, Cathy Johnson, in Franktown, Colorado.

Helen outlived all of her siblings: brothers Herman and Vernon, and sisters Margaret and Emma. She is survived by her four children and their families: Luann (Jeff) Golberg, Alexandria; Steve (Becky) Zinsli, St. Cloud; Cathy (Mark) Johnson, Franktown, Colorado; Ken Zinsli, Sunnyvale, California.

Visitation will be held on Friday, February 24, 2023, from 1:30 PM - 2:30 PM at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Alexandria. Daughters of Isabella Rosary will be held at 1:30 PM. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 2:30 PM at the church. Burial will be at St. Mary’s Cemetery.