Sheila Kay Frenzel, age 75, of Eden Prairie, MN, passed away peacefully at her home, surrounded by loved ones, on November 17, 2025.

Sheila Kay Frenzel was born on January 4,1950 in Minneapolis, MN to Dorothy and Kermit Larson, the oldest daughter of seven children. She was raised and grew up in south Minneapolis and attended Annunciation Catholic Grade School and Regina Catholic High School. She earned her undergraduate A.A Nursing degree at Anoka Ramsey State Community College in 1972. Sheila married Mark Frenzel in 1972 and began her nursing career in Saint Louis, Missouri, while her husband finished his graduate studies.

In 1973, Sheila and Mark traveled west to sunny Los Angeles, California. She worked as a staff nurse at Saint John’s Medical Center in California while working on her B.S. Nursing, P.H.N. degree, which she completed at California State University, Long Beach in 1977. She worked as Head nurse in the Emergency Department, Research nurse at USC, and as a Visiting Home Care nurse during these years. Sheila loved exploring the West Coast with trips to Yosemite, trout fishing in the High Sierra’s, skiing Mammoth, Sun Valley and Lake Tahoe, and family trips to Hearst Castle, Big Sur, and San Francisco. She also had many family visitors from Minnesota that came to experience Disneyland, Venice Beach, Hollywood, and the sunny California weather. In July of 1982 Sheila gave birth to her son, Steven, a year before moving across country to New York State. While living in California, she made life-long friends that filled her with deep gratitude and created many special memories that she cherished.

In 1983, Sheila and Mark relocated to Albany, New York for his work in the Veterans Administration Health System. Sheila continued her nursing career in Coronary Care at Saint Peter’s Hospital while raising Steven, and in 1987 gave birth to her second son, David. Sheila loved upstate New York and made numerous short trips to the Adirondacks and Berkshires for cross country skiing, concerts in Saratoga, and trips to New York City, Vermont, Boston and Cape Cod. In the fall of 1989, Sheila and Mark relocated back home to Minneapolis, MN where their parents and most of their siblings lived. In returning home she felt renewed and blessed, and they eventually settled in Eden Prairie. Sheila continued her nursing career until January of 2013 in a variety of positions and settings that included: Staff Nurse at Fremont Clinic, Neighborhood HealthSource, Case Manager at Cigna Health Solutions, Acute Case Manager at Park Nicollet Methodist Hospital, Medical Claims Review Nurse at Long Term Care Group with United Mine Workers of America, Comprehensive Care Manager at American HealthWays, Triage Nurse at Park Nicollet Clinics in Eden Prairie, and Health Referral Nurse at North Memorial Hospital.

Sheila was a wonderful, sensitive soul who provided long-term caregiving for her mother, Dorothy, and her two aunts, Helen and Kathleen. Sheila loved car trips to numerous destinations across the United States and Canada to visit with family and friends while exploring new regions, including Banff, Lake Louise, Grand Canyon, Zion, Whistler, Vancouver, Cape Cod, Rock Port, Venice, Fort Meyers, New Orleans, Scottsdale, Savanah, and Gulf Shores. Her favorite place was the North Shore of Minnesota, from Duluth to Grand Marais, for hiking, birding, snow shoeing, cross country and downhill skiing, and relaxing with family and friends. She was an avid, lifelong lover of birds and took annual trips to the Detroit Lakes birding festival each spring. In her retirement years, she was an active volunteer at the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum and with Saint Joan of Arc ministries, where she connected and made lasting relationships. She loved being with her nieces and nephews at family and holiday gatherings and always took special interest in their lives.

Survived by husband Mark, and her two sons, Steven (Stacey) of Duluth, MN and David (Kayla) of Bowling Green, KY. Three sisters, Debbie Cooter (Dick) of Two Harbors, MN, Cindy Clarkson (Bob) of Carver, MN and Lori Creekmore (Rick) of Bend, OR, and three brothers, Greg Larson (Mary) of Maple Grove, MN, Jeff Larson (Chris) of Bloomington MN and Mark Larson (Joy) of Burnsville, MN, and the many cousins, nieces, and nephews that she loved so dearly.

Celebration of Life Service will be Thursday, December 4th at Saint Joan of Arc, located at 4537 3rd Ave South, Minneapolis, MN 55419. Visitation at 10 a.m., mass at 11 a.m., followed by a luncheon. Memorials preferred to Neuroendocrine Tumor Research Foundation, Audubon Society, or Saint Joan of Arc.