Karen Renee West

Karen was born in Fergus Falls, MN, to Verna and Herbert Bengtson, and was raised on a farm south of Battle Lake, Minnesota. She attended primary school in a one-room schoolhouse, was valedictorian of her high school class, and received her BA from the University of Minnesota - Morris in 1969 and her MA from Colorado State University in 1973. Karen’s career was in medical transcription. At the time of her retirement in 2007, she was the manager of transcription services for Centura Health in Denver, CO.

Karen loved to travel. After retiring, she traveled to Germany in 2008, Hawaii in 2009, Iceland, Scotland, and England in 2010, and New England and Nova Scotia in 2013. Her last trip, in 2022, was to the Grand Canyon. She also loved to read. Her home library contained many thousands of books. Karen was also well known for her love of animals. During her lifetime she lovingly cared for many animals, including horses and countless dogs and cats.

Karen cultivated many friendships over her lifetime. Her Christmas card list numbered in the hundreds, and social media allowed her to maintain contact with friends old and new. She was active in church ministry, first at Sharing with Sheridan food pantry through St. Philip Lutheran Church in Littleton, CO, and later at Hope West food pantry at Rejoice! Lutheran Church in Omaha, NE.

Karen met her husband Denton in October of 1969 at Southern Illinois University, and they married on June 14, 1970. Their only child, Katherine Renee, was born in August of 1975. Karen and Denton lived in Wiesbaden, Germany, from 1976 to 1980. They moved to Colorado in 1980 and lived there until moving to Omaha, NE in 2020. Karen was the proud, loving grandmother of Abigail Renee, Natalie Elizabeth, Andrea Carroll, and Charlotte Grace McGuire.

She was preceded in death by her father Herbert Bengtson, mother Verna Bengtson (Jacobson), nephew Curtis Bengtson, numerous aunts and uncles, and many beloved canine and feline companions. Karen will be deeply missed and lovingly remembered by her friends and family, including her husband Denton West, daughter Katherine McGuire, son-in-law Luke McGuire, granddaughters, brother Clinton Bengtson, sister-in-law Janet Bengtson, and numerous cousins, nieces, and nephews.