Anne Marie Zimanske, 68

Anne Marie Zimanske, age 68, of Lonsdale, MN, died peacefully with her family at her side after a 3-year valiant battle with ovarian cancer on Friday, May 30, 2025.  Anne was born on March 11, 1957, in New Prague, to LeRoy and Martha (Havlicek) Svoboda.  She attended St. Wenceslaus Catholic School and was a 1975 graduate of New Prague High School.  She completed her education with an Associate Arts Degree in Social Services from Willmar Community College.  On an evening in 1977, Anne would find herself the subject of a little bit of mischief.  Out with friends in Little Chicago, MN, Anne would discover that her car had "trouble".  Little did she know that Dale Zimanske's buddies had disabled her car so that Dale could appear the "hero".  It worked!  She and Dale were married on September 12, 1981, at St. Wenceslaus Church in New Prague.  Her career started at a preschool in Lydia and was interrupted when she became Mom!  When her two children entered school, Anne returned to work as a special education paraprofessional in the New Prague School District, an occupation which she loved and accented her gentle, kind, and compassionate personality.

 Anne's greatest priority was her family, caring for both her children and grandchildren in her home and cherishing any time spent with them.   Shopping trips with Katie became a cherished tradition.  She was strong, nurturing, and thoughtful and always up for a bit of fun!  She was the go-to person for her friends, the Chicas, classmates from St. Wenc and NPHS, having a gift at being able to recall all the fun stories from their days at St. Wenc and High School, generating laughter and comic reproductions of teacher personalities!  Her love of traveling started at an early age with family road trips, then a special trip with her mother and sisters to the Czech Republic, trips to Mexico and cruises, wine trips, visiting family in Colorado, and especially cruising in the Corvette with Dale and her favorite dog of the year, most recently Dolly.  She inherited her mother's skills in the kitchen, noted for her great cooking.  She especially enjoyed her times out with the "Wine-Nots", a group of six women, who enjoyed laughter, fellowship, and, of course, wine!  In her solitary, quiet time, Anne enjoyed puzzles of all kinds, crossword, Wordle, Sudoku.  Her kindness, gentle nature, care and compassion, and that glint that let you know that there was an interesting story containing just a bit of mischief under the surface will be missed by all who knew her.

 Anne is survived by her loving husband, Dale of Lonsdale; children, Andrew (Ashley) Zimanske of Prior Lake, MN, Katie (Dennis) Hanson of Lonsdale; grandchildren, Addison & Arya Zimanske, John, & Clara Hanson; sisters, Donna Svoboda of Lakewood, CO, Margaret Warnemunde of Burnsville, MN; brother, John (Mary Heil) Svoboda of Denver, CO; very special dog, Dolly.  She is preceded in death by her parents; brother-in-law, Francis "Fran" Warnemunde.

 A Service of Remembrance will be held Friday, June 6, 2025, at 11:00 a.m. at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in New Prague with Rev. Dr. Joy K. Bussert, presiding pastor and Rev. Diane M. Goulson, assisting minister. Enter through Door 2 at church. Visitation will take place at church from 9:00 – 11:00 a.m. and lunch will be held in the church social hall after the service.  Private family burial will occur at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, the family welcomes memorial donations to any of the following organizations: Crescent Cove, Minnesota Ovarian Cancer Alliance, CaringBridge, Mayo Clinic.

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