Evonne Lee ‘Eve’ Zosel, 80, of Duluth, MN, died Thursday, December 19th, 2024, at Essentia Health Hospice in Duluth after battling chronic pulmonary fibrosis among other ailments. She leaves behind a brother, Warren (JoAnn) Illi; four children, Paul (Sherri), David (Joanne), Brenda (Brian) Bookholtz, and Rachel (Brian) Caliva; and eight grandchildren, Katie, Zackery, Jaclyn, Alexander, Nicholas, Alexis, Logan, and William. She was preceded in death by her husband of 52 years, Charles; a daughter, Heidi; and her parents, Alexander and Myrtle Illi; and two brothers, John and Marshall.

Eve was born in St. Paul on October 30th, 1944, to Alexander and Myrtle Illi. She graduated from Harding High School in 1962 and met the love of her life, Charles, “Chuck” at the University of Minnesota-St. Paul in January 1963. By June, the pair was engaged to be married and did so on September 18th, 1963. After Chuck joined the Navy, Eve settled in Norfolk, VA awaiting his safe return from a deployment in the Mediterranean. Son, Paul had other ideas, and Eve promptly returned to St. Paul and her childhood home to begin raising her family. In July 1965, the trio of Zosels moved to Longview, WA where Chuck had taken a job with the North Pacific Railroad. One year later they were blessed with another son, David. Eve and Chuck had the great fortune to be able to move back to the Great Lakes region in October of 1966 when Chuck was offered a job with the Tomahawk DNR. The family lived first in Tomahawk, then in Ladysmith, and finally in Spooner where daughter Heidi was born in 1968. The growing family continued to expand as the family adopted another daughter, Brenda in 1975 and another daughter, Rachel in 1977. The seven-member family moved to Beaver Dam in July of 1977 and to Lake Nebagamon, WI in 1978.

Eve was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, and sister. She loved to camp, cross-country ski, and was a bleacher fan for her grandchildren’s activities. She not only loved raising her kids but also chose childcare and early childhood education as her career. She was a member of the Lake Nebagamon PTO and was a School Board Member in Maple for 25 years. Eve loved to sew and craft and was very involved with her church. As an active member of Mission Covenant Church in Poplar, WI, Eve sat on many boards including the leadership team. She also started a women’s Bible study and a widow’s group.

In 2014, husband Chuck was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease. Eve was privileged to care for him until he died in 2016. The family home with so many memories was sold in 2020 and Eve moved into a new duplex in Poplar until her medical needs caught up with her. In October of 2022, Eve moved to Duluth to be closer to medical facilities.

Evonne’s funeral service will take place at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, December 27, 2024, at Mission Covenant Church in Poplar with Pastor Darrell Nelson officiating. A visitation will be held from 10:00 a.m. until the time of service at the church. A private interment will be in Lake Nebagamon Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to Mission Covenant Church, 5161 County Rd P, Poplar, WI 54864 or Heidi Zosel Memorial Scholarship at Northwestern High School, PO Box 188, Maple, WI 54854.

Last Update: Dec 23, 2024 1:05 pm CST