Harriet Zoe Vollbracht Hoel was born on September 19, 1918, in Coatsburg, Illinois, the only child of Walter and Elma Vollbracht. Zoe's family moved to Kenosha, Wisconsin, when she was one where she graduated from high school in 1936. After taking classes at the community college and working in a department store, Zoe entered the University of Wisconsin in Madison where she graduated in 1943 with a BS in home economics. Following college, she spent a calendar year in a dietetics internship at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York City. She then entered the Army Medical Corps as a hospital dietician. She had met Howard Hoel in 1942 on a blind date while she was living in Wisconsin and he was stationed as a Navy instructor at Great Lakes, Illinois. They married on July 17, 1945, in Brigham City, Utah, where Zoe was stationed in the Army and Howard was on leave from a tour of duty on a destroyer in the South Pacific. After the war, the Hoels moved to Thief River Falls, Minnesota, where Howard and his father purchased the Northern Woodwork Company. The couple's three children'Jeffrey, Emily, and Timothy'were born and raised in Thief River Falls, with Zoe using her home economics training in the service of her family as a full-time homemaker. In 1961 she started working in the business with Howard, which she continued through 1981 when they sold the business. In 1988 they moved to Coon Rapids, Minnesota, where they enjoyed living in a major metropolitan area, attending plays and musical performances of the Minnesota Orchestra. Zoe was a talented cook, who put the fruits of her father's garden into delectable jams, jellies, pies, and homemade wines. She was a committed and skilled bridge player. She enjoyed old movies, crossword puzzles, and knitting. Zoe is survived by her children, Jeffrey of Palo Alto, California; Emily (Tom) Moore of Grinnell, Iowa; and Timothy (Susan) Hoel of Minneapolis, Minnesota; four grandchildren, Amy (Andrew), Phil, Jessica, and Libbi; and one great grandchild, Jack. Zoe was preceded in death by her parents and her husband Howard on May 23, 2006. Memorials may be directed to Grinnell Regional Hospice or to the Mayflower Homes Human Needs Fund.