Karen Bouzek

Karen Bouzek, a long-time resident of Stoughton, Wisconsin, passed away peacefully on January 5, 2023 after a short lived illness.

Karen was born in Prairie du Chien, WI, where she met and married Jerry, her husband of 58 years. Part of a large family of five children, she learned the entrepreneurial skills from her father in the family lodging business that would serve her well later in life. She went on to open Stoughton businesses, The Creamery, an ice cream parlor with her husband and Montage, a  gift shop with her daughter, Deedee.

Karen worked as a nurse at Stoughton Hospital for nearly 40 years. She found her work fulfilling and was known as a skilled RN, a valuable mentor to her colleagues, and a compassionate advocate for her patients. Post retirement, she returned to work in the geriatric psych unit, where staff admired and respected her wisdom and expertise working with the elderly.

An avid reader of mysteries, especially by Norwegian authors, Karen read two to three books per week. She also loved shopping, collecting beautiful things, interior design, traveling to distant places, and spending time on her porch overlooking the Yahara River with her cat, Minnie.

Her creative skills found a home in knitting, sewing, quilting, and flower arranging. She was always thinking about her next project. Karen’s family was the most important part of her life. She always made time for her children and grandchildren. Along with holding her impressive book collection, the shelves in her home served as a time capsule filled with the playbills and concert notices from the many family performances she had attended. Like her mother, she loved to read magazines and spent countless hours at Barnes and Noble where she sought out the latest ideas in knitting or simply creating beauty in her home and garden.

Karen will be remembered by all who knew her as a kind and compassionate friend, mother, grandmother and sister with a quiet, immutable strength who always put others before herself. She had a beautiful smile that could light up any room. As her daughter Deedee aptly put it, “To know her is to love her.”

Karen is survived by son David (Barbie) Bouzek, daughter DeeDee Bouzek, grandchildren Sophie and Silas Bouzek, all of Stoughton. Also survived by sister, Jane de Roussan of Montreal, Canada, and a brother, Eric Frydenlund, of Prairie du Chien and many nieces and nephews and cherished friends.  She is preceded in death by her parents, Art and Elaine Frydenlund; her husband, Jerry; a son, Jeff; and two brothers, Gerald and John.

A memorial gathering will be held from 1:00 PM until 3:00 PM on Saturday, January 14, 2023 at Cress Funeral Home, 206 W. Prospect Street, Stoughton.

Please share your memories of Karen by posting on her Tribute Wall.

Cress Funeral Service

206 W. Prospect Street, PO Box 231, Stoughton

(608) 873-9244