116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Obituaries
The Gazette publishes obituaries on a daily basis. Use the search field above to search for obituaries by name or keyword. Readers can submit an obituary or submit a milestone to The Gazette. The obituary must be submitted before 1 p.m. for publication on thegazette.com at 6 p.m. and in the daily edition the next day, with the exception of obituaries for Sunday publication, which must be submitted by 1 p.m. on Fridays.
Karen Reisetter
Karen Reisetter
Iowa City
Karen Reisetter, 66, of Iowa City, died on Sept. 13, 2020, in her home while under hospice care after a long struggle with breast cancer. She was surrounded by her loved ones.
A memorial gathering for friends and family will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 10, at the Unitarian Universalist Society, with a brief service to begin at 1:15 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to the Emma Goldman Clinic online at emmagoldman.com/ or by mail to 227 N. Dubuque St., Iowa City, IA 52245.
The second of six children, Karen was born Dec. 21, 1953, in Des Moines, Iowa, to Mary and William (Bill) Goetzman. She graduated from St. Joseph Academy in 1972 and studied at Iowa State University before transferring to the University of Iowa, where she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in history in 1976.
Karen went on to obtain her BSN from the University of Iowa College of Nursing and worked as a registered nurse at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. After her time in nursing, she began a new career in real estate, working with Duncan Matheson Glasgow, Coldwell Banker and Lepic Kroeger. Karen’s expertise, warm nature and keen intuition made her a successful and sought after real estate agent.
Karen married her husband, Phil Reisetter, in Iowa City, Iowa, in 1981. She was extremely devoted to Phil and their daughter, Anna.
In addition to family, Karen was active in her community and enjoyed learning new things. Karen was one of the Scrabble Girls, a group of friends who have met monthly to play scrabble together in Iowa City for 30-plus years. She found great joy in gardening and became a Master Gardener in the early 1990s. She organized and participated in many community garden projects including the annual Longfellow Association Garden Walk and the Longfellow Elementary school butterfly garden.
Karen was known and loved for her quick wit, strong opinions and wicked sense of humor. She had great style and enjoyed dressing up, almost always wearing her signature red lipstick. She was a fabulous chef (though she never measured) and loved entertaining her family and friends. She is deeply missed.
Karen is survived by her husband, Phil Reisetter of Iowa City, Iowa; her daughter, Anna Reisetter (Colin Lewis-Beck), of San Francisco, Calif.; and many loving family members and friends.
She was preceded in death by her parents and younger brother.
Online condolences at www.lensingfuneral.com.
Daily Newsletters