Karen Marie Jensen

On November 29, 2023, after a courageous battle with cancer, the spirit of Karen Marie Jensen flew off to the heavens. 

Karen loved water and the outdoors from an early age due to the encouragement of her parents.  They took her walleye fishing in Canada before she was one year old.  She learned to canoe and sail at the family cabin at Mille Lacs Lake.  Through her work as an engineer, protecting and restoring Minnesota’s waters, she was able to live her values. Karen graduated from Forest Lake High School in 1980. She studied chemistry at Augsburg College. After college she worked at 3M as a chemist and at the Outward Bound School in Ely teaching canoeing, camping, winter camping and dog sledding.  Her time at Outward Bound furthered her interest to work with water.  Karen received her master’s degree in civil engineering, focusing on the environmental study of water quality in lakes, streams and rivers. She was fortunate to build a career at the Metropolitan Council Environmental Services. Karen and her husband Jim paddled and camped on many adventures including Norway, Alaska, New-foundland, New Zealand, the Grand Canyon and the BWCA. Both were happiest in camping clothes, often sleeping under the stars without a tent to get views of the night sky. After Jim’s death, Karen’s life was enriched by her family and many friends including her high school women’s group; boating group; co-workers and neighbors. She was an avid knitter and the members of the knitting group brought her great joy. 

Karen was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Jim Rada; parent-in-laws, Chuck and Della Rada; brother-in-law, Rico Rada and her precious cat, Hero.  She is survived by her parents, Don and Marlette Jensen; sisters, Karol Jensen and Kim (Chuck) Knandel; niece and nephews, Aly and Ryan (Dani) Knandel and Sam (Amelia) Rada; great grand niece and nephew, Saskia and Silas Rada; sister-in-law, Rojean Rada (Tom Darling) and her beloved cat, Juno.  A special thank you to all of Karen’s caregivers, including Mayo Clinic in Rochester and HealthPartners Hospice team; your dedication, compassion, andexpertise made an immense difference in Karen’s and her families lives. All memorials will be donated to The Nature Conservancy in Minnesota (minnesota@tnc.org).

A celebration of Karen’s life will be held Saturday, December 16, 2023, 11:00 A.M. at BRADSHAW CELEBRATION OF LIFE CENTER, 2800 Curve Crest Boulevard, Stillwater with a visitation one hour prior to the service.   

The family requests no flowers.  All memorials will be donated to The Nature Conservancy in Minnesota (minnesota@tnc.org).