Helen Louise Swier Zuiderhof, age 97, of Sioux Falls, formerly of Colton, passed away on Friday, November 14, 2025, at Ava’s House in Sioux Falls. Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, November 18, 2025, at 2:00 PM at the Minnehaha Funeral Home, Colton, with burial to follow in the Colton Cemetery. Visitation will begin at 1:00 PM. Memorials may be directed to Ava’s House in Sioux Falls.
Helen was born on September 8, 1928 in Hawarden, Iowa. She grew up and attended school in Colton. She married Peter A. Swier in 1944 and they began raising their family. After Peter’s death in 1962 she started working outside the home to support her family. In 1965, she married Neil Swier and became a loving mother and grandmother to his family. They farmed in the Colton area until retiring into Colton in 1988. One of her favorite memories is when Glen and Nancy’s daughters would ride horses to their farm to visit. One horse was so well trained that it would walk right up to Helen’s door and ring the doorbell. Neil died in 1990. She married Lawrence Zuiderhof in 1994. He passed away in 2004.
Helen was a longtime volunteer teacher’s aide at the Colton and later Tri-Valley Schools where she loved to read to young children. She helped with crafts with the Calvinettes at the Christian Reformed Church. She also loved mowing her lawn and playing cards.
She is survived by her grandsons: Wade (Elvia) Vink, Luverne, MN, and Lance (Patricia) Vink, Lutz, FL; great-grandchildren: Eric, Valor, Leilani, and Talynn; step-children: Harold Swier, Dell Rapids, Glen (Nancy) Swier, Colton; step daughters-in-law, Cindy Swier and Rhonda Swier, Sioux Falls; granddaughter-in-law, Tammy Vink, Tea; step-children: Larry (Audrey) Zuiderhof, Duane (Judy) Zuiderhof, Donna Zuiderhof, and Karen (Doug) Barber; and many step grandchildren and great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husbands, Peter A. Swier, Neil Swier, and Lawrence Zuiderhof; children: Judy Vink, Suzanne Buus, Larry Swier, Douglas Swier, and infant daughter Sharon Swier; grandson, Troy Vink; and step-children, Gene Swier, David Swier, and Lola Boom; and step daughter-in-law, Peggy Swier.
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