She leaves legacy of widespread support

Blooming Prairie Public Schools have lost their biggest cheerleader; the town seems to have lost its heart.

Sue Zwiener, whose boundless energy funded countless school projects and fueled decades of community traditions, died Aug. 17 at her home, surrounded by her family.

No one would have expected anything less for the woman who was the envy of many parents and grandparents.

“She was one of the few lucky ones who had all their kids stay around,” said Becky Noble, whose friendship with Zwiener spanned four decades.

That meant, of course, that Jeff and Sue Zwiener’s 12 grandchildren and one great-granddaughter were also around – leaving only for college, before finding jobs back in their hometown area.

Two of their daughters work for the school district; so do two of their granddaughters.

“One thing that is synonymous with Sue is the phrase ‘family is everything.’ That’s the key thing when I think about Sue Zwiener,” said Mike Ressler, mayor of Blooming Prairie.

“That’s probably the biggest part of her, but she was a huge supporter of Blooming Prairie in general; just always loved this town. She was a great person, all around; the most unselfish person I’ve ever met,” he said.

“Sue’s family is entrenched in our community,” said BPPS Superintendent Chris Staloch. “She cared deeply about her family and friends, and wanted the best for all. Her love for our school and our community was evident through her many hours of service to the organizations that she was a part of.”

It’s no small list.

The successful businesswoman found time to volunteer with Steele County 4-H; BP FFA; BP Country Club and BP Jaycee Women and more while building a 42-year career with New York Life Insurance.

During that time, Zwiener also opened B to Z Hardware in Blooming Prairie with her friend and office manager, Barney Betlach.

She was a co-founder and officer of the Blossoming Community Foundation, and filled many roles in her capacity as a member of St. Columbanus Catholic Church.

But it was the Blooming Prairie Education Foundation that best defines her legacy of support.

“Sue was one of the original board members of the Education Foundation and a huge supporter of Blooming Prairie Public Schools,” Staloch said. “She is a big reason the Education Foundation auction is so successful, which helps raise thousands of dollars for our students each year.”

Funds raised by the Ed Foundation are awarded to local teachers, allowing them “to provide our students with wonderful educational experiences,” he said.

It was where Zwiener shined, said Noble.

“We were partners in the auction, and we had so much fun doing that,” Noble said. “Sue had a great eye for what things might go for, and we’d auction off everything from rabbits to dogs to a school bus. She came up with some of the best ideas, and crazy things to auction off…”

For example, a bar stool – just one bar stool – from Zeiner’s Ballroom in Bixby.

Every year, Noble and Zwiener would make radio appearances together to promote the upcoming auction.

“One year on the way home, we saw Zeiner’s was being torn down, so we stopped and talked to the guy who owned the property,” Noble said.

They walked around, had some good laughs about the pink bathroom and the high handle on the toilet, “and the crazy times we had there with all the wedding dances growing up,” she said.

When the pair drove away, they had secured the stool that Grandma Zeiner would sit on at the door, “and the only way you got in was if you gave Grandma Zeiner a ticket to get in,” Noble laughed.

That year’s auction featured the bar stool, as well as the “wedding gift table” from the ballroom.

“It worked out so well, because there were still a lot of us that went to Zeiner’s a lot growing up, so we got some good money for both items,” Noble said.

Another of Zwiener’s ideas was to auction off a “Hillbilly Bash,” held out in the country on properties owned by Zwieners and Mike and Sandy Jones.

“I’ll tell you what – that was so much fun,” Noble said. “A whole group of people would go together to buy the Hillbilly Bash (at the auction.) We’d go to Mike and Sandy Jones’s place, and they were dressed up like hillbillies, so we came dressed as hillbillies.”

From there, a hay wagon took the group to the Zwieners’ property, where there were games set up – like a bra slingshot filled with acorns to aim at targets.

The group ended back at the Jones’s cabin “to have roadkill for supper,” Noble said. “It was roast beef or something that they had cooked over the fire. It was just a great time.”

Like so many things in Sue Zwiener’s life, it was entertainment – with a mission.

“Jeff and Sue were always up for fun,” Noble said. “They loved having fun with friends and family, and especially when it was making money for the school.

“She had such a love for the community and the school; she did everything for them.”

That included supporting the community through Chamber of Commerce events; Noble was the executive director for 20 years.

Zwiener reveled in the annual Christmas light contest, “and she loved that competition with the bowling alley – it didn’t matter who owned it.”

Ressler, whose family has owned the establishment for decades, remembered that.

“I didn’t know if it was actually a competition, so to speak,” he said, “but she definitely made sure that all her bulbs were working more than we did, so she was definitely proud of that.”

A few minutes later, Ressler reconsidered.

“I guess there was a contest,” he said. “My brother wanted to make sure he decked out the bowling alley more than other businesses, but Sue was pretty aggressive on making sure that she had the building that was going to win that.”

It was, he said, “just another thing that again, was synonymous with her; the involvement in whatever she could to do to help out Blooming and support Blooming, whether it’s the school or the community in general. She absolutely loved Blooming Prairie, through and through.”

Noble said her friend’s zeal for winning those community contests was a peak into her personality.

When Zwiener was remodeling the building that houses her New York Life office, “Sandy Jones and I broke in,” Noble said. “The guy fixing it up let us in, so Sandy and I went in there one night, and we put a sign in the front window: Victoria’s Secret, opening soon.”

Zwiener appreciated the joke; “she had a great sense of humor,” Noble said.

Now, she said, even something as simple as being the place to buy tickets for community events, or to drop off auction items won’t feel the same.

Zwiener’s New York Life office on Main Street “was always a big stopping spot,” Noble said. “It was a great place to have coffee.”

That’s because, Staloch said, “Sue had a vision for doing great things for our school and our community. She was a great problem solver and didn’t ever accept the status quo.”

In 2022, the community recognized Zwiener’s vision and accomplishments by awarding her the BPEF Alumni Distinctive Service Award.

No one was more deserving, Staloch said.

“Sue always wanted better for Blooming Prairie and was always able to get people to help her make our community a better place for all,” he said. “She didn’t take no for an answer, and always took obstacles head on. Her determination to make life better for our students and our community was second to none.”

Well – maybe one: That big, tightknit family.

Noble said the family worried about delivering the news that Zwiener’s grandson, Bo, had been seriously injured in a car crash on Aug. 10.

After a week in the hospital, Bo turned the corner, recovery-wise.

“That’s when she died,” Noble said. “We all believe she was just waiting to make sure he was going to be OK before she left.

“That would be her.”

“It’s hard, finding somebody to replace a person like that in this community,” Noble said, growing emotional. “She’s done so much. So much.”

Sue and Jeff “didn’t do it for the glory, that’s for sure. They did it because they felt it was the thing to do. They wanted to support – and they did.”