Karin Ruth Hartzell

Karin Ruth Hartzell
May 28, 1967 • February 7, 2016
Karin Ruth Hartzell was born May 28, 1967 to Richard and Phyllis Hartzell in Benson Minnesota. She grew up in Benson and attended Benson High School. Karin played saxophone in the band, played on the volleyball team, was a cheerleader, played piano, sang in the choir, and life guarded and taught swimming lessons at the Benson pool. Karin also worked in her dad’s print shop doing special projects with her sisters. She graduated in 1985 from Benson High School. Karin attended Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota for one year, then she transferred to Mankato State University where she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business marketing in 1990.
Karin began her professional career at General Mills, which led to further positions in category management at Colgate-Palmolive, Johnson & Johnson, Curry Sales, Coty, World Kitchen & GlaxoSmithKline. She lived in Phoenix for three years, but moved back to Minneapolis where she wished there was more warmth and sun, but it was home. Karin had a love of travel and cooking. She wished to merge her experience in business with her love of cooking and attended the Art Institute of Minneapolis studying culinary arts.
Her love of traveling took her many destinations in her profession in places all over the U.S., as well as personal trips to several countries in the Caribbean and a life long dream trip to visit Italy in 2007. Karin was also an avid reader, loved to garden & cook, liked to cross stitch, bike, hike and enjoyed anywhere with sun, water and sand. Karin loved animals and dog-sat for friends as well fostering dogs. She loved kids and became an “auntie” not only to her own nieces and nephews, but all her friends’ kids as well. She was part of the Big Sister program and her “little sister” Ke’nay was very important to her and they spent lots of time together. Karin was a “giver” to everyone. She was very selfless to her friends and family.
Karin died at the University of Minnesota Hospital  February 7, 2016 at the age of 48 years and eight months after an extended illness. She was loved and surrounded in those many months by her family and many friends. Karin is lovingly remembered and missed by her mother Phyllis Hartzell of Benson, her sisters Kimberly (& Damon) Edmond of Castle Rock, CO and Kristin (& Michael) Murphy of Castle Rock, CO, her nieces and nephews: Grace, Anna and Colin Murphy & Jackson and Julia Edmond of Castle Rock CO, her “adopted” sister Rhonda (Loen) Fennell of Benson, and many other family and friends.
She was preceded in death by her father, Richard, her grandparents: Harold & Verna Johnson, Lester & Gladys Fields, Earl Hartzell, aunt, Elaine Gillette and uncles, Arvid Johnson and Warren Jamison.
Online condolences may be left for the family at strikefuneral.com
A celebration of Karin’s life will be held at 10:30 a.m., Saturday, May 28 at Bryant Lake Regional Park Pavilion: 6800 Rowland Road, Eden Prairie, Minnesota.