Hammel, Karen Anne

Karen Anne Hammel, 70, of Cedar Rapids, died Tuesday, March 15, 2011, at Mercy Medical Center, Cedar Rapids. Funeral Mass: 9:30 a.m. Saturday, March 19, at St. Matthew Catholic Church, Cedar Rapids, by Father David Beckman. Visitation: 4 to 8 p.m. Friday at Stewart Baxter Funeral & Memorial Services, Cedar Rapids, with a vigil service at 7 p.m. Burial: Mount Calvary Cemetery, Cedar Rapids.

Survivors include her husband, Wayne; son, Craig Hammel of Georgetown, Texas; daughters, Cindy McWherter of Cedar Rapids, Sherry (Phil) Rilett of Indio, Calif., Pam (Brent) Champion of Kalispell, Mont., and Brenda (Larry) Thoele of Kansas City, Mo.; brother, Leon (Shirley) Schulte of Waukon; special sister-in-law, Angie Schulte of Waukon; five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Karen was born March 25, 1940, in Waukon, Iowa, the daughter of Joe and Rose (Duffy) Schulte. On Aug. 10, 1957, she married Wayne Hammel at St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Waukon. Karen enjoyed working in the cafeteria at All Saints Catholic School, helping her husband with their remodeling business, and most importantly taking care of her family and being a mom.

She was preceded in death by her parents, seven sisters and three brothers.

Memorials may be directed to St. Matthew Catholic Church.

A special thank you goes to Dr. Mary Anne Nelson, Dr. James Levett, Dr. Donald Paynter, and the staff at Mercy Medical Center for the compassionate care provided Karen. Also thank you to Kris Sargent for gently guiding Karen and her family during her brief illness.

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