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Brelje, Karen Louise
Karen Louise Brelje, 72, of Kalamazoo, Mich., died in the Lord on Jan. 2, 2012, in Kalamazoo. Visitation will be held Monday, Jan. 9, from 5 to 8 p.m. at Langeland Family Funeral Homes, Westside Chapel, 3926 South Ninth St., Kalamazoo. Services will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Tuesday at Zion Lutheran Church, 2122 Bronson Blvd., Kalamazoo. Pastors Timothy Seeber and Mark Couch will officiate. Burial will be at Trinity Lutheran Church Cemetery, Red Bud, Ill.
Karen was born April 2, 1939, in Red Bud, Ill., to Edwin and Leona Eggerding. She grew up and attended school in Red Bud through high school. Karen enrolled in the School of Nursing of Lutheran Hospital in St. Louis, Mo., graduating as a registered nurse in September 1960.
She worked during her lifetime as a registered nurse at Lutheran Hospital, St. Louis; Skiff Memorial Hospital, Newton, Iowa; and Mercy Medical Center, Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Karen was married to Larry Brelje on June 10, 1961, at St. John's Lutheran Church, Red Bud, Ill., and celebrated 50 years of marriage this past June. She was the mother of three sons, Stephen, Timothy and Michael, who died at three months of age of SIDS.
Karen was a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ and a member of Zion Lutheran Church, Kalamazoo, Mich. At Zion she worked in the Lutheran World Relief sewing ministry, in the serving of meals after funerals and in the Braille ministry.
Karen was preceded in death by her parents and her infant son, Michael.
She is survived by her husband, Larry; her son, Stephen and his wife, Pam, of Kalamazoo, Mich.; her son, Timothy and his wife, Becky, of Harlan, Iowa; five Brelje grandchildren, Benjamin, Jordan, Jonathan, Joshua and Jenna; her sister, Shirley Wallace of Trenton, Mich.; and her brother, Louis Eggerding and his wife, Carol, of Columbia, Mo.
Memorial gifts may be directed to the Lutheran World Relief sewing ministry of Zion Lutheran Church or to Loaves and Fishes of Kalamazoo.
Please visit to sign Karen's online guest book or leave a condolence to her family. (269) 343-1508
Published Jan. 8, 2012, in The Gazette
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