Karen Marie (Lindberg) Jorgensen, 83, passed away Tuesday, July 8, 2025 in her home in Grantsburg, Wisconsin.
Karen was born December 1, 1941 to Sylvia (Mattson) and Wilbur Lindberg of Trade Lake, Wisconsin. She was baptized, confirmed, and married at Zion Lutheran Church in Trade Lake and will rest forever in its sacred ground with her beloved husband, Clayton.
After graduating from Grantsburg High School in 1960, she attended Polk County Teachers’ College, where she met the love of her life, Clayton Jorgensen. They married in 1962 and started their teaching careers. After teaching for two years in Black River Falls, Wisconsin, Karen and Clayton were hired to teach in the Grantsburg School District.
They welcomed son, Gregory in 1969 and daughter, Janelle in 1971. Karen stayed home with them until both were in elementary school, then returned to teaching. Teaching was more than a career for Karen, it was a calling, and her students became her kids. She kept all of their notes, cards, and gifts. At Christmastime, the Christmas tree on the main floor was decorated solely with ornaments given to them by students.
Karen and Clayton retired in 2000 and fully embraced being grandparents and civic-minded community members. They enjoyed attending events for all of their grandchildren. One time, they drove from Grantsburg to Little Falls, Minnesota, to attend the piano recital of granddaughter Sophie. They immediately left after Sophie played to make it back to Grantsburg in time for granddaughter Lauren’s nursery school program. Being present for special moments took precedence over practicality. Some things were just too important to miss.
Karen was an active member of Grantsburg Women Working Together and the Grantsburg Friends of the Library. She volunteered at the elementary school which meant so much to her. She also supported Clayton in his many projects, spending many hours typing Clayton’s nearly illegible handwritten notes.
Karen loved word games, particularly Wheel of Fortune and Wordle. She and her sisters would compete daily to see who would share their score first and who had the least amount of tries. She also shared her Wordle with her grandchildren who saw it as a daily reminder that Grammy was thinking of them.
Karen faced many health challenges in her life. The most significant was her battle with ovarian cancer that started in 1994. She braved rounds of chemo, radiation, and surgeries during her battle. She overcame the odds stacked against her with each reoccurrence and made sure her medical team knew that “she wasn’t going anywhere.”
Aging brought more health challenges — fragile bones, blood clots, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, all causing pain. Janelle became her patient advocate, working tirelessly to find care plans to help Karen continue to live the life she fought cancer so hard for.
Karen’s will was strong but her body was not. Sometimes even sheer determination is not enough to keep fighting the good fight. Karen entered hospice care in her home in May and Janelle led the team for her round-the-clock care.
When the time came for Karen to join Clayton, she slipped away quietly and peacefully with her daughter Janelle, niece Annalise, and sister Margie by her side.
Karen is survived by her daughter, Janelle (Jeff) Hermann; her son, Greg (Heather) Jorgensen; her grandchildren, Danielle (Jon) Otte, Chris Hermann, Lauren Hermann, Bella (Mike) Jarvis, Sophie (Stephen) Hanrahan, Max Jorgensen and Will Jorgensen; and great-grandchildren, Ever and Emrys Jarvis; her little dog Koda; as well as her siblings, nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her husband of 54 years, Clayton; her parents; and three siblings.
