Herman H. Zuettel

Herman “Sonny” Zuettel, age 85 of Roseville, Minnesota and Baldwin, Wisconsin passed away peacefully on January 5, 2026.

He was a truck driver for Admiral Merchants Trucking and loved driving semi-trucks. He enjoyed listening to his favorite trucker songs while on the road on his 8-track player. He left trucking to become a vegetable farmer following in his parent’s footsteps. He bought 40 acres in Baldwin, Wisconsin, built a house and shed and put in a 5-acre vegetable garden. He enjoyed driving his little Ford -N tractor. On Saturday mornings he would bring his vegetables to be sold at the Minneapolis Farmers Market selling in the same stalls his parents and grandparents used. He was very proud that he could plant a little seed and it would produce these wonderful vegetables. So much so, that he became a successful exhibitor at the Minnesota State Fair for several years, winning many blue ribbons along with purple Champion ribbons. There were long days spent at the fair, but seeing those blue ribbons made it all seem worth it.

He eventually decided to move to River Falls where he found a property that in addition to land for the vegetable garden there were greenhouses too. He was able to add flowers and hanging baskets now that he had greenhouses. He was always fond of animals and there were numerous dogs and cats and every kind of farm animal throughout the years.

When the winters started to become too cold for him, he decided to head south to Arizona. He bought a place in Sun City, AZ and joined some local card groups. He absolutely loved to play cards, and his favorite card game was “500”. He was also a big NASCAR fan and would make the trip to watch the Daytona 500 races.

As his health began to decline, he moved back to Minnesota to be near family and his grandchildren spending his final birthday with them on Christmas.

Herman is survived by Betty Zuettel; daughters, Bonny (Mike) Haller, Brenda (Joel) Hielkema and Barb Shaw; grandchildren, Jamie, Dylan, Colleen, Bryce, Megan, Rowan and Vivian; great-grandchildren, Copeland, Brahm, Ashling, Kaden & Tiergan.

Preceded in death by parents, Herman and Jeanette Zuettel; sister, Martha Houle; granddaughter, Stormi Hielkema; and great-grandson, Brixton Hielkema.

Private service and interment to be held at Elmhurst Cemetery.