Karen Lee Renstrom, 53, Monticello

February 5, 1968 - December 23, 2021

A Celebration of Life will be at 2:00 PM on Friday, January 7, 2022, at Riverside Church in Big Lake, MN, for Karen Lee Renstrom, age 53 of Monticello, who died peacefully surrounded by her family on December 23, 2021, following a nineteen-year battle with A.L.S. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service on Friday at the church.

Karen Lee Schuller was born to Tom and Margaretta (Bosak) Schuller on February 5, 1968, in Robbinsdale. Residing in Brooklyn Center and then Deep Haven, she graduated from Minnetonka High School in 1986. Karen worked in high-end appliance sales for Geyer’s Builder’s Express and later as a Consultant for ESINED, Inc. She was an avid runner and loved to keep in shape. In 1999, while running in her neighborhood, she caught the eye of Michael Renstrom. They began dating and were married on October 12, 2001, at Resurrection Lutheran Church and danced the night away at the Monticello Monte Club.

Shortly after their marriage, Karen was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s Disease. She lived at home and was cared for by her husband, step-daughters, sister, friends, and many PCAs over the years. One of her PCAs, Katie developed a strong lifelong friendship with Karen. Food, food, food! These three words best describe Karen’s quirky obsession. She would collect menus from restaurants for the sole purpose of fantasizing about what each item would taste like. She would shop with friends whenever she could, and her special outings with Auntie Joyce and Michelle were especially meaningful.

Karen is survived by her husband of 20 years, Michael Renstrom; step-daughters, Kendra Thomas of Albertville and Kelsi (Dan) Poster of Albertville; grandchildren, Addison and Landon Thomas of Big Lake and Odin and Aksel Poster of Albertville; father, Tom (Kathy) Schuller of South Haven; brother, Tim (Liz) Schuller of Victoria; sister, Susie (Kevin) McNamara of Ramsey; step-sisters, Christine (Chris) Sarkinen of St. Michael and Theresa (Neal) Purtee of Landstuhl, Germany; nieces and nephews, Lauren, Allie, Josephine, Tim Jr., Cole, Will, Delaney, Patrick, Sam, Brittney, Jacob, AnnaGrace, and AJ; father-in-law and mother-in-law, Ray and Lila Renstrom of Cambridge; sisters-in-law, Sharlyn (Morey Borchardt) Schedlbauer of Zimmerman and Rebecca (Ryan) Nelson of Cambridge; many other relatives; and many close friends.

She is preceded in death by her mother, Margie Schuller; and her beloved Yorkshire terrier, Casey.

Karen's family would like to thank the staff at CentraCare in Monticello for blessing Karen by providing for her daily needs these past four years. Memorials are preferred to ALS Association MN Chapter.