Karen Kay Nelsestuen

Karen Nelsestuen, 83, of Winona passed away Saturday, November 9, 2024, at Benedictine-Saint Anne. 

She was born in La Crosse, WI, on August 12, 1941, to Kermith and Violet Crandall. She attended the Wisconsin School for the Deaf in Delavan, WI, and the Minnesota School for the Deaf in Faribault, MN, where she met LaVern.

Karen and LaVern were united in marriage at English Lutheran Church in La Crosse. The couple shared 61 years of marriage together before LaVern’s death on November 9, 2023.

She was a former member of the Deaf Club in La Crosse, WI. She loved watching the Green Bay Packers, shopping, crafts, decorating, and talking with her friends via video phone.

Karen is survived by three grandsons: Jack (Kara) Nelsestuen, Tyler Brown, and Kyle Brown; son-in-law, Robert Brown; 3 great-grandchildren, Olivia Nelsestuen, Maxwell Nelsestuen, and Jordyn Brown; and sister, Judy (Jim) Voshart.

She was preceded in death by her husband, LaVern; her parents; daughter, Lisa Brown; great- granddaughter, Meadow Brown; and sisters, Marilyn Smaby and Jeanne Roesler.

A memorial service will be held at a later date.