Karen Gravalin

KAREN R. GRAVALIN

July 12, 1956 – December 26, 2018

            Karen R. Gravalin, 62 of Nevis MN, passed peacefully on Wednesday, December 26, 2018 with her husband of 43 years and daughters by her side. She was a loving and beloved wife to Bruce, mother to Sarah (Gravalin) Warrington, Katie (Gravalin) Jendro, Rebecca (Gravalin) Ceminski, and Jenny (Gravalin) Rittgers. Visitation will be at 2:00 PM,  with the funeral to follow at 3:00 PM at Our Lady of Pines Catholic Church in Nevis, MN. Monday, December 31, 2018.   

            Karen’s life was filled with love for her family, and friends.  Karen especially looked forward to seeing her family, her grandchildren, spending time at the lake with her siblings/cousins, meeting her friends for bingo/bowling and traveling to Florida during the winter months with her husband Bruce.  Karen enjoyed crafting, painting both canvas and ceramics. 

           Karen grew up in Moorhead and spent summers in the Detroit Lakes/White Earth area where she was a proud member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe.  She was the daughter of Donald and Genieve Clukey, sister to David (Marsha) Clukey, Joy Cloutier-Clukey, Terry (Silvia) Clukey, and forever grieved the loss of her sister, Donalyn Sue Clukey (who passed when they were teenagers). 

            Karen and Bruce settled in Park Rapids to raise their family in 1989 and moved to their Spider Lake home in 1998, where she found pleasure in potting flowers that lined her deck, flower gardens surrounding their home, and their annual 4^th of July fish fry. 

            Early in her career, Karen worked in banking, was a stay at home mother, worked for Park Rapids schools in the cafeteria, was a longtime member of the Park Rapids Eagles Club, and was a daycare provider. Eventually, she worked her way up the ranks and found her passion in a  leadership role at Lamb Weston/RDO Frozen Foods and retired as a Quality Assurance Supervisor in 2008. 

            Karen was fiercely proud of her daughters and grandchildren as she would not hesitate to rave about their accomplishments to anyone who would listen. Recently, she became an ardent Nevis Tigers fan where she fervently cheered on her grandchildren. 

           Karen had a compassionate heart and cared deeply for her friends and family.  Her empathy for all, sweet sense of humor, ferocious competitiveness at any game of chance, quick wit, and warm hugs will forever be missed. 

            Karen was preceded in death by her sister Donalyn Sue, and her father Donald Clukey.  She is lovingly remembered by her husband of 43 years, Bruce Nevis, MN, her daughters Sarah (Daniel) Warrington, their children Mathias (14), Eva (12), Nora (8) and Lyla (4) of Nevis, MN, Katie (Cory) Jendro and their three children Lily (13), Kiara (10), and Riley (5) of Zimmerman, MN, Becky (Drew) Ceminski of Park Rapids, MN and their children Coen (11), Gabriel (5), and Olivia  (2), and Jenny (Joe) Rittgers and their two children Bennett (4) and Hudson (1) of Nevis, Minnesota; her mother, Genevieve (Gary) Clukey of Mt. Dora, Florida, her brother, David (Marsha) Clukey of Osage, MN, Joy Clukey-Cloutier of  Fargo, ND, and Terry (Silvia) Clukey of Osage, MN, and many cousins, nieces, nephews, in-laws, and friends. 

      To leave online condolences or to view the video tribute please visit www.jonespearson.com