Karen Marie Hollerud

Karen Marie Vesterso Hollerud was born on August 3, 1944, to Melvin and Cora Vesterso at Devils Lake, ND. She was baptized in 1944 into her Christian faith at her grandparent's home at Bisbee, ND. She grew up on a family grain farm near the Canadian border. She attended school at Clyde, ND, and later finished high school in Egeland, ND. During her early life she worked as a housekeeper at a hospital in Cando and at a nursing home in Rugby, ND. In 1978, she moved to Rochester, MN, where she was evaluated for employment at Ability Building Center. She was placed at Cedar Valley Services Inc. in Austin, MN, where she learned to perform her job as a food services worker, which she continued for the next 31 years.

In 1980, she married Dennis Hollerud and continued in that relationship for 32 years. She lived in Austin until 2020 when she moved to Byron to be near her sister Jean Mortenson. Since January, 2021, she has lived in an Olmsted County foster care home in Byron where she was ably cared for by Debbie Kline.

Although Karen was person with developmental disabilities, she did basic meal planning and preparation; kept a clean, well-organized home; learned to knit, do embroidery, and play piano by ear; and sent and received greeting cards from friends and family. She was an active member of St. Olaf Lutheran Church, never missing Sunday worship. She loved to socialize and had many friends that she met at the shopping mall in Austin, at McDonalds, and at church. She maintained her many friendships, talking to them on the phone in the past few years when she was confined to her home.

She died suddenly and peacefully at her foster care home on August 22, 2026. She is preceded in death by her parents and her brother Kent. She is survived by sister Jean (Curtis) Mortenson and sister-in-law Brenda Vesterso, 4 nieces, 1 nephew, and 8 great -nieces and -nephews.

Karen led an admirable life, loving her God and her family and enjoying her many friends.
In lieu of flowers the family has requested any memorial gifts be sent to Ability Building Community. Link below.
https://www.abcinc.org/donate