Joseph "Joe" N. Wetzel Sr.

Age 56, of Zimmerman.  Passed away on Monday September 10, 2018.  He is survived by his wife of 30+ years, Darci (nee Pratt); children, Sarah (Ryan) Becker, Joseph Jr. (Christa) and Ashley (Nick) Parmenter; 7 grandchildren, Jordan, Caiden, William, Cameron, Robert, Lydia and Elise; parents, Noel and Carol Wetzel; siblings, Therese (Ernie) Koch and JoAnn (Donald) Lewellyn; other family and many friends.  Memorial service will be at 11:00AM on Thursday, September 13, 2018 at Dare’s Funeral Home, 805 Main Street NW, Elk River, with visitation beginning at 10:00AM.

Joe loved his family with all his heart and soul. He sacrificed many things for his family through the years. He made sure all our needs were met to the very best of his ability. He worked very hard for his family right up to his failing eyesight made it impossible to work.

Joe loved the outdoors. He especially loved being in the woods. Camping, hiking, fishing, duck hunting, deer hunting, etc. He prepared for his annual hunting trips all year long. He purchased his very first boat  this summer and was working on getting it in the water. It is old and needs some work, but he loved it.

He was an avid reader. He would read any western he could get his hands on. He would read the books over and over. He loved history and retained everything he ever learned about the wild west. He also loved survival books. Everyone who knew him said he was born in the wrong era. He would have loved to live off the land in the wild north. A regular mountain man. He loved making things out of beads and leather. He wore a leather shirt he made on his hunting trips every year.

He was a great cook. He had many recipes for wild game as well as traditional cooking. He would always be thinking of what we were going to have at our next meal.

Most of all he loved becoming a grandfather. His grandkids were always on his mind. He remembered all their birthdays. He loved spending time with them. He would somehow tell everyone he met that he was a grandfather of seven.

Joe lived his life his way. He was stubborn and ornery and taught his children the same. Even with his blindness and at the last this awful cancer, he still lived his way. He fought his cancer as fiercely as he fought his blindness. He would not let it slow him down by giving up. He fought to the very end.

He was diagnosed with Lung cancer August 2nd, 2018. He started the fight that very day. He faced it head on never believing he couldn’t beat it.

He will be missed by many. RIP my love!