Karen JoAnn Gielen, 51, Avon

September 16, 1969 - May 6, 2021

 
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Funeral services will be at 11:00 AM on Tuesday, May 11th at Holy Cross Lutheran Church in St. Cloud for Karen JoAnn Gielen, 51, of Avon who passed away on Thursday, May 6th. Rev. Jeff Manthe will officiate and burial will be at North Star Cemetery in St. Cloud. Visitation will be from 4- 8 PM on Monday, May 10th at the Williams Dingmann Funeral Home in Avon and an hour prior to services Tuesday, at the church in St. Cloud.

Karen was born on September 16, 1969 to Dale and Elaine (Beeck) Ruesch in Worthington, MN. She married LeRoy Gielen Jr. on June 25, 2004. Karen had a very close and personal relationship with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Karen was a Director of Graphic Design and was very artistic. She loved to paint, draw, knit, crochet and sew. She wrote plays for the 4H Club and designed patterns and sold them online. She also loved alpacas and belonged to the Upper Midwest Alpaca Association. Her love for animals included raising giant chickens and she had a special love for kittens. Karen had a 17 year old cat. She loved to read, watch crime dramas, kayaking , walking and fishing. Karen helped Lee with starting his business of flipping houses. They also were hosts of an Airbnb up North. She had many talents and also was a great cook, even though she hated it. Karen loved to travel and went to Hawaii, Utah, Las Vegas, Arizona and California, but she never made it overseas which was a dream of hers. Her favorite shows were Game of Thrones, Mandalorian, Forensic Files and Chopped.

Karen is survived by her husband Lee of Avon, children; Ariel Hare of Peoria, AZ, Kimberly Haight of Rochester, Sam Gielen of Sartell, Alexis Gielen of Sartell, Paige Gielen of Avon and Amanda Gielen of Avon, Siblings; Gayle (Stephen) Clark of St. Cloud, Melanie (Gary) Fisher of Holdingford and Greg Ruesch of Brewster and 2 grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her parents, and son Kaden Ruesch in 2019.