Karen Leighton, 76, Osakis, formerly of Long Prairie

November 29, 1944 - July 15, 2021

A memorial service will be held at 11:00 AM, Wednesday, July 21, 2021 at the Williams Dingmann Family Funeral Home, Stein Chapel in Long Prairie for Karen Leighton, 76, of Osakis, formerly of Long Prairie. Visitation will be 1 hour prior to services Wednesday at the Funeral Home.

Karen Francis Eggerth was born on November 29, 1944 to Sylvester and Christine (Loegering) Eggerth in Bruce Township, MN. She graduated from Long Prairie High School in 1963. While waitressing at the Bowler, she met Larry Leighton, the love of her life, who she married on September 4, 1965 in Pasadena, CA. The couple moved to Iowa where they both worked in the printing and newspaper business. For a time, they owned and operated the Fayette Leader and a print shop in Fayette, IA. They moved back to Long Prairie in 1979. Karen worked as a Graphic Artist at Hart Press until her retirement in 1999. Karen and Larry have enjoyed their retirement in the Alexandria lakes area.
Karen had a wonderful sense of humor and was known to be somewhat of a prankster. She had a way to lighten the mood with a song for every occasion and would be the first on the dance floor to lead us all in the polka. She was an awesome cook who could pull together a full meal in no time. Most of all, she had a genuine love for family. She loved her seven children unconditionally. Her grandchildren were everything to her. Although she had fourteen grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, she had countless others who she adopted, stating no one should live without a grandma.

Survived by her husband Larry, of Osakis; children Kimberly and Dave Benson of Clontarf, Laurie and Ryan Krosch of Good Thunder, Michelle and Marv Lunser of Clotho, Vickie and Blane Larson of Maple Lake, Chris and Crystal Leighton of Villard, Elvis and Jennifer Leighton of St. Paul and Jesse Leighton of Mandan, ND; her brother Larry and Bev Eggerth of Long Prairie; her sister Marilyn Steinert of Sauk Center; sister-in-law Karen Eggerth of Long Prairie and brother-in-law Jimmy Mikel of Long Prairie; fourteen grandchildren, Dustin, Travis, Jordan, Amber, Kayla, Sam, Shelby, Kelvin, Maggie, Anthony, Alex, Jordyn, Lola, Luke, and two great-grandchildren, Brooklyn and Xander.

Karen is preceded in death by her parents Sylvester and Christine Eggerth; her sister Barbara Mikel and brother Jay Eggerth.