Karen Charlotte LaBenne Vander Leest was born on July 6, 1944 to Joshua and Louise Larson LaBenne in Detroit, Michigan. She passed away early Sunday morning, January 11, 2009 at the Grinnell Regional Medical Center at the age of sixty-four.

Karen graduated from McKenzie High School in Detroit, Michigan, with the class of 1962. On January 29, 1966 she was united in marriage with Duane Vander Leest in Detroit, Michigan. To this union two children were born: Susan and Troy.

Karen accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as her personal Savior at a young age and was in happy fellowship with those gathered to the name of the Lord in Pella.

Karen was a devoted mother and grandmother who took great delight in her children and grandchildren. She was a skilled artist and talented decorator. She was a member of the Sully Garden Club, a Sunday School teacher, and was employed as a secretary with Sully Transport for over twenty years., Karen loved to travel with her husband, having adventures in all seven continents.

Those left to cherish her memory are: her devoted husband, Duane; her daughter and husband, Susan and Christopher Abbott and their two children: Samantha and Karina; her son and his wife, Troy and Michelle Vander Leest and their three children: Alexa, Taylor, and Gage; her brothers: Larry (Ruth) LaBenne of California and Wallace LaBenne of Las Vegas, Nevada; and one sister: Lou (Rich) Giesbrecht of Aberdeen, Idaho.

Karen was preceded in death by her parents and her brother, Donald LaBenne.

FUNERAL SERVICES

1:30 P.M., Thursday, January 15, 2009
Sully Community Church
Sully, Iowa

VISITATION

Beginning at 3:00 P.M., Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Family will be present 5:00-7:00 P.M.
Sully Community Church
Sully, Iowa

MEMORIALS

Bible Truth Publishers

---