Karen Petryszyn, age 61 of Mercer, ND, formerly of Bismarck, died October 6, 2011 following a battle with cancer at the St. Alexius Medical Center in Bismarck.

Funeral Services will be held 11:00 A.M. Tuesday, October 11th at the Mercer Community Center with Pastor Randy Emgarten officiating. Interment will follow at Our Savior's Lutheran Cemetery, north of Mercer.

A Remembrance Service will be held at 5:30 P.M. Monday at Our Savior's Lutheran Church, Mercer, with public visitation to follow from 6:30 to 8:30 P.M.

Karen was born on December 17, 1949, in Bismarck, ND, the daughter of Rubin and Louise (Hatfield) Rueb. Karen grew up in Wishek and enjoyed many summers with friends at the community pool across the street, or hanging around the Dairy Queen. Karen graduated from high school and moved to Rapid City, SD to attend college at the National College of Business before moving on to new adventures in Bismarck.

In June of 1972, she met and fell in love with a Bismarck native at Bachelor Days in New Salem. Eight months later she married him, and she and Les Petryszyn eventually had three daughters. The couple divorced in 1987, but as Karen would later say, "Even though you get divorced, it doesn't mean you've stopped loving each other." The couple remarried in 2006 and moved to Brush Lake in Mercer to enjoy their retirement together.

Karen most recently worked part-time at the Mercer Post Office but had previously worked throughout her life as a secretary/administrative assistant. Her places of employment included West Central Human Service Center, St. Alexius Medical Center, and the North Dakota Children's Special Health Services, all of Bismarck. She also moonlighted part-time at the customer service desk at Kirkwood Mall in what she considered her "fun job."

Karen was an active member of the Lutheran church from teaching Sunday school and playing in the bell choir, to being a member of W.E.L.C.A. What people noticed most about Karen was her smile, because she was always smiling. She loved visiting with friends, tending her flowers, and relaxing by the lake. Most of all she loved being a mom and a grandma.

Karen is deeply missed and survived by her husband, Les, Mercer; three daughters, Kim (Andrew Bleasdale), Maple Grove, MN, Jill (Tim Britton), Bismarck, and Kari (Greg Argo), St. Paul, MN; three grandchildren; and one sister, Donna Ketterling, Fergus Falls, MN.

She was preceded in death by her parents (Rubin and Louise Rueb).