Karen S. Kruger
Karen Sue Kruger, age 83, passed away on Aug. 8, at Dujarie House at Holy Cross Village in Notre Dame.
Karen was born Feb. 27, 1943, to Mary Katherine (Weisjahn) and Ernest Edward Williamson. She spent her formative years near Star City, attending Fairview Grade School and becoming a member of the first graduating class of the new Winamac High School in 1961.
Karen shared her life with Larry Raymond Kruger. They were married at St. Ann’s Catholic Church in Kewanna and made their first home in Rochester. They later moved to Kewanna, where their two daughters, Lori and Lisa, were born. Larry’s work eventually took the family to Brownsburg, where they made their home for many years and were members of St. Malachy Catholic Church.
Karen worked in the Brownsburg High School cafeteria and later as a dental assistant and office manager for Gary Bischoff, DDS, in Brownsburg. After retirement, she returned to a place especially dear to her, building a home on her grandparents’ homestead near Star City. Her grandchildren spent summers and holidays there, playing in the woods and making the sort of memories that become family stories. At different times, Karen’s mother, her sister Carol, and her brother John also made their homes in those woods. There were deer and wildlife to watch, fires to build, and family close at hand.
Karen lived on the homestead until August 2020. She then lived in Beavercreek, Ohio, with her daughter Lisa until 2023, and later in Carmel and Notre Dame, near her daughter Lori.
Karen had many interests. She enjoyed clogging and remained devoted to keeping active, participating in Rock Steady Boxing, physical therapy, and daily exercise. She and her sister Kay shared a particular interest in family history. A good day might be spent together at the Indiana State Library, searching genealogy records online, or wandering through a cemetery reading old markers and piecing together the stories of those who came before them.
She also loved to travel with her family, journeying throughout the United States as well as to Mexico and Germany.
And there was nary a time in Karen’s life when there wasn’t a game of euchre to be played. She taught her children and grandchildren, and after moving to Beavercreek, she found a new circle of friends around the card tables at the local senior center. They played two versions of the game, and her friends were known to tell Lisa, “Your mom is such a good euchre player.” When Karen’s mobility became more limited, they simply pushed her chair from table to table so she could keep playing. After she returned to Indiana, those friendships endured, with cards and notes continuing to arrive from her Ohio euchre friends.
Karen is survived by her daughters: Lori Harding and Lisa Kiesel [Kurt]; her grandchildren: Annabelle Bedford [Chance], Karl Kiesel [Sara], Katie Kiesel, Graham Harding; and her sisters: Carol Fernandez of Louisville, Kentucky and Rita Williamson of Winamac.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Larry; her parents: Mary Katherine and Edward Williamson; her sister, Kay Brown; and her brother, John Williamson.
Services will be at 10:30 a.m., Saturday, Aug. 22, at Rans Funeral Homes & Crematory, Winamac Chapel, 110 N. Sally Dr., Winamac.
Visitation will be from 5 to 6 p.m., Friday, Aug. 21, at the funeral home where there will be a Scripture Service at 6 p.m.
Burial will be at Winamac Cemetery, McKinley Addition.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in Karen’s memory may be made to Spiritual Care Fund at Holy Cross Village at www.holycrossvillage.com or Kewanna Public Library.
(Pulaski County Journal — Aug. 19, 2026)