Service Details
A private memorial will be held.
Memorial Suggestions
Any memorials in Karen’s name may be directed to the Cancer Center at Ascension. She has spent the last few years knitting hats for the patients and placing them at the entrances.
With great sadness we announce the passing of Karen Lil Nielsen, age 91, on Sunday, August 17, 2025, at Ascension Health Care, Racine.
Karen was born in Racine on June 10, 1934, to the late Edwin and Ruth (nee: Carlson) Hansen. She was a graduate of Washington Park High School and took additional courses at Loyola University in Illinois. On February 8,1964 she was united in marriage with the love of her life and her best friend, B. Arthur Nielsen (the B. will always be kept a family secret) who preceded her in death after 61 years of marriage on March 21, 2018.
Karen developed a passion for creative arts early in life and you could say it was a gift passed down by her mother. She enjoyed a very successful career in the fashion industry. She spent a great deal of time traveling around the country, and Europe as well sharing her talent. She worked in Chicago and on 5th Avenue in New York where she sat on the Pantene board selecting the color trends for the future. She had her own store in Racine in the early 1970’s called Creative Needlework, Inc. This is also where she shared her talents with many people and made many, many friends. Karen loved to read and had many interests. If you needed a partner for “Trivia” you wanted it to be her. Family was paramount to Karen, especially at the Holiday’s. The gorgeous decorations, inside and out, lavish meals and the most incredible gifts. Karen always had her two nieces dressed in lavish outfits of her own creation making them feel special. This tradition was carried down to the next generation also where she now had two girls and 3 boys always coordinated. Friends were also a huge part of Karen’s life, and while she made them everywhere she went, the most important were her neighbors and bridge club friends who kept her and Art entertained for many years. The 4th of July cookouts were always a favorite.
Surviving are her brother, Richard (Alice) Hansen; Nieces, Terry Meyer and Leslie (Kirk) Gain; 5 Great Nephews and Nieces; and many Great-great Nephews and Nieces. In addition to her parents and husband, Karen was preceded in death by her Nephew, Timothy Meyer.
The family would like to extend a very special thanks to Dr. Gullberg who has taken care of Karen since the day Dr. Gullberg started at All-Saint’s. He has been a crucial part of the family and treated her like family. Another special thanks is extended to Fr. Steve Vargese who reached out in our time of need and gave Karen and the family comfort as the end neared. Special Thanks to the staff at both Ascension and Ridgewood as they were her home away from home these last few years.
The Hansen Family would like to thank Kirk Gain for being there over the past 8 years since Art died. She loved you like a son… There are no words for how much you have done.
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