Darwin Zingelman

Darwin Duane Zingelman was born August 17, 1942 to Donald "Tom" and Gertrude "Gert" (Heidebrink) Zingelman on a farm in Woodstock, Mn. For the first three months of his life, he did not have a name so his grandpa called him Sonny. The name stuck with him all of his life. He attended country school until 8th grade then went to Pipestone until the 10th grade. As he grew up and helped on the farm he worked for other farmers in the Woodstock area.

On May 11, 1962 he was united in marriage to Janet Raph at the Hope Lutheran Church in Ruthton. To this marriage there were three children Toni, Kim and Kevin. In February 1962 they moved into Ruthton. He started working for Eldon Orange on the bee farm for over 20 years. He joined the Ruthton Fire Department in 1965 and retired in 1985.

In 1984 Darwin suffered a stroke and was paralyzed on his right side. He worked hard to be able to drive and to walk and became the handy man of Ruthton. He would mow lawns and watch people's houses when they needed him to. He mowed the Ruthton Cemetery for 40 years and when he retired from there, he would still get compliments that he was very good at taking care of the cemetery. Darwin passed away at the Avera Hospital in Sioux Falls, SD, on December 19th 2025, at the age of 83 years, 4 months and 2 days.

He is lovingly remembered by his wife, Janet of Ruthton; daughter, Toni (Gary) Bakker of Ruthton; son, Kevin (Shaleigh) Zingelman of Gladewater, TX; grandchildren, Brett, Brendon, Brandi, Mason and Tayler; 5 great-grandchildren; and 9 step great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his son, Kim; his parents, Donald and Gertrude Zingelman; his in-laws, Earl and Verdelle Raph, Dorothy and Joe Mueffels; brother-in-law, Darvin Kor; nephew, Adam Zingelman; nephew-in-law, Bob DeZeeuw; and several aunts, uncles and cousins.

On Saturday, June 6th, 2026, there will be a Celebration of Life at the Ruthton Community building from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM. Please come join us for lunch and tell stories of Darwin's life.