Karen Elizabeth Olsen's Obituary
Karen Olsen, passed away peacefully at home on Wednesday, November 10, due to cancer. Karen was a loving wife, mother and grandmother, and a longstanding member of the First Lutheran Church of St Helens, Oregon.
Karen was born July 12, 1936, in St. Helens to Walter and Lois Hagquist. She graduated from St. Helens High School in 1954. After high school, Karen met her future husband, Howard W. Olsen. They married at Bethany Lutheran Church in Warren on a snowy evening in January 1957, and would raise two children: Patti, born 1960, and Doug, born 1962. Karen worked as a vault teller for Western Bank in Scappoose.
During their 51 years together, Karen and Howard enjoyed an active social life which varied from square dancing with the "Ring and Swing Square Dance Club" in the sixties, to RV trips with the "Traveling Beavers" group in their retirement years. Additionally, Karen was an avid volunteer at First Lutheran Church. Over the decades, she served as a Sunday school teacher, wedding coordinator, church council member, and ladies guild member. In her final years, Karen participated in the church’s quilting group and volunteered with their community meals program.
Karen was preceded in death by her husband Howard and by her three siblings: Jeanne Sosa, Jim Hagquist, and Marilyn Eastwood. She is survived by her two children, Patti (Dan) Richard and Doug (Denise) Olsen, and her three grandchildren: Nick Olsen, Michelle Richard, and Mack Olsen.
A funeral service will be held at First Lutheran Church in St Helens at 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 16. Karen will be interred alongside Howard at Bethany Lutheran Cemetery in Warren.
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