Our beloved Karen found her own place in the firmaments when she passed away on April 29th at the age of 85. She was preceded in death by her loving parents, Elvera and Kenneth Holmquist.

She was born in St. Paul on March 14th, 1941, where her father was a hospital administrator and her mother a stay-at-home mom. From her earliest days and throughout her life, she carried herself with a radiant beauty and a warm, welcoming smile. She and her younger sister, Kristi, grew up in the Highland Park neighborhood, where Karen enjoyed sunny afternoons with her circle of friends. When the family relocated to South Minneapolis, she attended Washburn High School. In the fifties, when sock hops and trips with pals to the Lyndale Drive-in were the rage, Karen was always on hand to enjoy the lighter moments.

In 1974, bearing the burden of her own struggles with alcohol, Karen sought recovery treatment at St. Mary’s Hospital (now Fairview Riverside).

It was then that she began what would become more than 50 years of sobriety. After completing her treatment, she was so moved by the power of the recovery program that she volunteered at St. Mary’s. It wasn’t long before she knew that she had found her true calling. And soon after, the hospital recognized her zeal for the work and asked her join the staff as a full-time chemical dependency counselor. For the next thirty years, she lent a friendly, knowledgeable ear to those in treatment, as well as to the scores of others for whom she served as a sponsor. Her warm demeanor, coupled with her firsthand experience of addiction, gained her ready credibility with her patients. But Karen was also a truth teller. She had a gift for getting people to be honest with themselves, even when the truth was hard to face. It wasn’t at all unusual for her to cross paths in the local community with her “graduates,” all of whom expressed their appreciation and gratitude for helping them gain a new foothold on a productive life.

Karen early on caught the ‘fashionista’ bug, always dressed immaculately and stylishly, whatever the occasion. She never met a women’s clothing sale that she could pass up, and she loved searching out bargains. She was every bit as passionate about her candy. A stash was never far away, whether at home, the office, or in her car.

She also loved animals, especially dogs, and more particularly, those of the bull variety. Over the years, she loved her five bullies, with close friends and family gifting her countless bulldog treasures. Karen was also a splendid cook and an avid collector of cookbooks, with a collection that exceeded 900 titles.

Karen was a devoted mother to her two sons and daughter. Her “real family home” was the beautiful log cabin that her parents built in 1955 on Deer Lake near Grand Rapids. There she and her family cherished their times together, filled with snowy Christmases, holidays, time on the water, board games, and singalongs that sometimes stirred her dad to break out in Swedish melodies. As a grandmother, Karen made simple traditions feel special: birthday shopping trips, rental movies for sleepovers, and Swedish pancakes for breakfast.

She is survived by her husband, Mark, of 37 years; sister Kristi; daughter Tracy; sons Clark Griffith III and Stanford Clinton III; granddaughter Aubrey and her husband Jake; great-granddaughter Elvera; and many other relatives and cherished friends.

A Celebration of Life for the family will be held at Wayzata Community Church at a later date. Memorials are preferred to The Retreat, a treatment facility for which she volunteered in her later years: 1221 Wayzata Blvd. E., Wayzata 55391