Karen Gay Kuschel

Karen Kuschel, 81, went home to be with the Lord on her birthday, Saturday September 14, 2019. Karen was a long-term resident of Mulders Health Care in West Salem. She was born and raised in the La Crosse area and lived most of her life near West Salem.
Karen was born on September 14th, 1938 to Palmer and Alma (Sheets) Larson in La Crosse. After her mother passed away, she helped raise her younger siblings. She married Melvin Lynn Kuschel on August 27th, 1955 at Mount Calvary Parsonage and together they raised eight children. She was a supportive wife to Melvin while he served in the Army National Guard, Auxiliary Police and while he worked at Trane Company. She was known for her legendary hospitality. She could feed a crowd with little advance notice and loved making large pots of chili or potato soup and dumplings with rolls for all the deer hunters in the fall. She was very involved in the Girl Pioneers at Mount Calvary Church in La Crosse since their beginning. She was involved in multiple church activities, including the Ladies’ Aid societies and young people’s groups. She ran a very successful senior meal program in Melvina while she and her family ran Mel’s Running Inn in the 1980s. She loved cooking and baking and showed her talents with decorating cakes for weddings and special occasions.
Karen was known for her wonderful sense of humor, her upbeat personality and her frozen fish flinging capabilities. She took it in stride when Mel brought home, fed and rehabbed a multitude of animals. She was always smiling and happy regardless of the circumstances, whether that be putting out the fire her granddaughter set when she babysat and stepped out of the room for a few seconds, family water fights when the temperature was above 90 degrees, or when a neighbor’s cow would get loose and look into the window of the family home (Cow 54 where are you?). Karen was happiest cooking for her large family and extended family, leaving behind a large assortment of recipes that called for a handful of this, a dump of that and other obscure measurements that she kept in her head.
Karen is survived by her husband Melvin of West Salem; her sister Ann Lemke and her brothers Jim (Mary) Larson and Butch (Ruth Ann) Larson; her husband’s brother Glenn (Sharon) Kuschel; her aunt Joyce Larson; her children Dave (Doreen) of La Crosse, Sue (Dave) Friell of West Salem, Sally (Mark) Peterson of Stoddard, Jim (Anne) of La Crosse, Glen (Sue) of Melvina, Rich (Meg) of Springfield, Illinois, Sheryl (Shawn) Burns of Plymouth MN, and John (Jessie) of Chicago Illinois; her grandchildren Greg (Karen) Peterson, Brett (Kat) Friell, Matthew and Brandon Friell, Molly Vanderloop, A.J. (Ali) Kuschel, Zach (Emily) Kuschel, Carrie Kuschel and Emmy Kuschel, Katie Kuschel, Chris and Katie Burns; and her great grandchildren Abby Peterson, Noah, Evee and Kaylee Kuschel, and Elam and Finn Kuschel and many dear nieces, nephews, cousins and friends. Karen was preceded in death by her parents, her stepmother Irene Sedivy Larson, her sister Bonnie Peaslee and Bonnie’s husband Fay, her brother Robert (Bob) Larson and his wife Dorothy, her brother in law John Lemke, and a stillborn son. She was also preceded in death by her husband’s brother Harold and his wife Theresa Kuschel, and her husband’s sister Jean and her husband Dan Spenseri.
Funeral services will be held on Wednesday, September 18, 2019 at 11:00 AM at Christ Lutheran Church, West Salem, 500 Park Street, West Salem, WI. Friends may call at the church on Wednesday from 10:00 AM until the time of services. In lieu of flowers memorials are preferred. Karen will be cremated and interred at Mormon Coulee Memorial Park at a later date.

The family would like to thank the staff from Gundersen Medical-Oncology unit, Carrie Latham from Palliative Care, Hospice, Dr. Usha and the Dialysis staff, and Mulder Health Care Center for their wonderful care of Karen.