Zola Hoiness, 96, of Harmony, Minn., went to be with the Lord on Wednesday, December 28, 2016 at the Gunderson Lutheran Medical Center in La Crosse, Wis. Funeral services were held on Monday, January 2, 2016 at 11 a.m. at the United Methodist Church in Harmony, Minn. Friends called one hour prior to services at the church. Burial took place at the Greenfield Lutheran Cemetery in Harmony, Minn., on Tuesday, January 3 at 1 p.m. Lindstrom Funeral Home in Harmony handled the arrangements.
Zola was born on December 11, 1920 to Granville and Deliah Bates in Mabel, Minn. In 1938 she graduated from Harmony High School, where she met Merlin. Following graduation she went to “Beauty School” in Minneapolis, then worked for a couple of families around Harmony. She and Merlin were married at the Decorah Methodist Church on May 14, 1941. Zola worked at the Harmony Hospital and Nursing Home for nearly 30 years and then worked as a home health aide for five years when she well into her 70s. Humanitarian describes her the best…..she took care of everyone who needed her, and that is a long list. She was a dedicated member of the Harmony Methodist Church, the United Methodist Women and was also a choir member. There was no end to her love for her children and grandchildren, and the feeling was mutual.
Zola is survived by her four children: Robert “Bob” (Sydne) Hoiness of Las Vagas, Nev.; Kathy Boice of Decorah, Iowa; James “Jim” (Gayle) Hoiness of Rushford, Minn.; and Philip (Chris Badger) Hoiness of Rochester, Minn.; her seven grandkids: Bob Hoiness, Jr., Jodi Boice Greanead, Brian Boice, Brent, Brad, Matt, and Marshall Hoiness; two step-grandkids, two sisters, Edith Wood and Helen Scheevel; along with many nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, Merlin on December 19, 2013; her son-in-law, Bob Boice; three brothers: Ernest, Floyd and Manny; and two sisters, Nellie Stroud and Phyllis Burkholder.
Blessed be her memory.