Karen J. Strand, 54, of La Crosse, Wisconsin died Thursday, September 27, 2001, at Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center in La Crosse. Karen was born October 11, 1946 in Minneapolis, Minnesota to Henry and Betty (Cooper) Strand. She attended grade school and high school in Minneapolis, graduating from Washburn High School in 1964. She then attended the University of Minnesota and the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, where she received a bachelor's degree in English and a Master's degree in Teaching. Karen taught high school English in several area school systems, including Mauston and Bangor in Wisconsin and Lanesboro, Minnesota. Health concerns forced her to retire from teaching in later years. Karen is survived by her mother, Betty Strand; sisters Sheila Strand and Mary (Thomas Fraser) Strand; brothers Marc (Lisa Reiman-Strand) Strand, Jon, Brian, David and Patrick Strand; nieces Elizabeth Strand, Katherine "Kate" Fraser and a special niece, Karen's godchild, Madeline Strand; nephews Benjamin, Nicholas, Alexander, Brian and John "Jack" Strand. Karen is further survived by her aunts and uncles Patricia Gill, Karen's godmother, Jacqueline and Andrew Sullivan, Donna and John Nesser, Mary Frances and Alvin Strand, Gloria Suring, Janna Gunderson, Marjorie Strand, Gladys Strand, and many cousins. She was preceded in death by her father, Henry Strand; her infant twin brother and sister, Peter Gregory and Mary Jeanne Strand; and her grandparents, Louis and Minnie Strand, and Robert and Lauretta Cooper. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. Patrick's Catholic Church, 318 Fulton St, Eau Claire, Wisconsin, at 12 noon on Tuesday, October 2, 2001, with Fr. Bernard McGarty as celebrant. Burial will be at Forest Hill Cemetery in Eau Claire. Visitation will be from 10:30 a.m. until noon on Tuesday at the church. Lenmark-Gomsrud-Linn Funeral Home is serving the family.

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