Karen Hageman

Monday, December 4, 2023 4:43 pm

Karen Hageman (58) ended the fight of her silent battle with cancer on Dec. 2, 2023, surrounded by her loving family.

She was born March 31, 1965 to Norb and Mary Gansen in New Hampton, Iowa. She grew up in Fredericksburg and Cresco, and she graduated in 1983, from Notre Dame High School in Cresco.

She met the love of her life, Wayne Hageman, in grade school, and they became high school sweethearts and were inseparable after that. Wayne’s work took him to the East Coast, where they resided for two years in the Vermont and New Hampshire areas. When the opportunity arose, they returned to Cresco to build their lives and family together.

She was strong-willed and stubborn at times but also had a generous heart and a wonderful sense of humor. She was generous, humble, and one of the most selfless people you would ever meet. She started her career in cosmetology and then changed to accounting. She felt a void in her life and followed her true calling to help people, which led her to reflexology and starting her own business. Over the years, she helped heal many of her clients in a different and gentle manner. Not only did she help them with their physical health and was also a counselor and always had an ear to listen to anyone in need.

Karen lived out her vocations of matrimony and family and took making memories and traditions very seriously. From making Christmas cookies to family vacations at the cabin, she ensured they happened, no matter how busy life got. She and Wayne were able to experience one of their lifetime goals of purchasing a cabin on the lake a few years ago. They spent a lot of time fishing, boating, and just being together at their very own piece of paradise. In just a few short years at the cabin, a million memories were made. Her presence will continue to live on and be felt on every trip up North.

Her faith was important to her, and it carried her through many of the struggles in her life. Even in her final days, she never stopped praying and never gave up the fight for more time to love the world and those in it. Her time on this earth was shorter than we had hoped, but she was able to give us a lifetime of love and was able to teach us all how to live a little more humbly and keep faith in even the most difficult situations.

She is survived by her husband Wayne Hageman; daughters Kayla (Jason) Shields, Tracy (Tony) Herold, and Alissa (Tim) Schafer, and grandchildren Sebastian, Baby Herold and Willow; her parents, Norb and Mary Gansen; her siblings Doug (Linda) Gansen, Teresa (Bill) Fox, Joan (Jeff) Minear, and Nicki Gansen; her brother-in-law David (Kathy) Hageman; and many nieces and nephews.

Karen is preceded in death by her in-laws Lawrence and Gladys Hageman.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for theirs is the kingdom of God.

Mass of Christian Burial for Karen will be held at 11 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023 at Notre Dame Parish in Cresco, with Father Jacob Rouse officiating. Burial will follow at Calvary Cemetery. Visitation will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 6, at Hindt-Hudek Funeral Home in Cresco, and will continue from 10 to 11 a.m. at the church on Thursday