Karen Lashinski, 81, a loving wife and mother, went to be with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on Saturday, January 6, 2024. She had been battling pancreatic cancer.
She was born on December 8, 1942, to Herman and Ann Bjornvick in Minneapolis and she grew up and attended Edison High School in Minneapolis. Karen married Gene Lashinski on October 21, 1961, at St. Mathew’s Church in Columbia Heights, MN. They lived in Columbia Heights for several years and started their family there. In 1978, she and Gene moved to Grand Marais, where they operated the family business, Gene’s Foods.
Karen enjoyed gardening and had a green thumb for growing flowers, which none of her sons acquired. Her favorites were Hybrid Tea Roses and she had a hundred of such plants in her backyard at one point in time.
Karen’s deepest passion, though, was always Gene, their five sons, and her grandchildren. She was always interested in kids/grandkids’ activities and followed them closely. Gene described Karen as loving, loyal and awesome; her boys would all agree. Karen’s proudest accomplishments would be her children and grandchildren.
Karen was an excellent cook and had the ability to prepare a huge meal and have everything ready on the table at the same time, hot and delicious. Her table was always open, even to those who called her Eggs Benedict an Egg McMuffin.
Karen was preceded in death by her parents, Herman and Ann; a sister, Dorthy; a brother, Arthur; a son, Jason; a grandson, Brandon; and a niece, Diana.
She is survived by her husband, Gene; sons, Steven, Daniel, Jarid (Jennie), and Jamin (Angela); daughter-in-law, Sherrie Lashinski; grandchildren, Stephanie (Daniel), Andrew, Alyssa, Devann, Christian, and Jesse; a brother, Harold; and a niece, Denise Hanson.
Services will be held at 1 PM on Saturday, January 13, 2024, at Cornerstone Community Church 1 Cedar Grove Ln, Grand Marais, MN.
To share a memory or leave an online condolence, visit www.cavallinfuneralhome.com.
