Karleen Marie Wernsing

Funeral services for Karleen Marie Wernsing of Chokio, MN will be held Wednesday, July 15, 2026 at 11:00 a.m. at Our Savior's Lutheran Church in Chokio. Visitation will be Tuesday, July 14, 2026 from 5 to 7 p.m. with a time of sharing at 7 at the Pedersen Funeral Home in Morris and for one hour prior to services at the church on Wednesday. Burial will be in Summit Cemetery in Morris.

Karleen Marie Wernsing was born on October 8, 1957, to Eldon and Lorraine (Anderson) Bakken. She was baptized and confirmed in Donnelly, where she also attended school until its merger with Morris. As a teenager, she enjoyed being a camp counselor at Elks Camp Grassick for children and adults with disabilities and special needs. She looked back on those summers as a joy and a privilege.

After graduating from Morris High School, Karleen moved to Fargo to pursue an education in interior decorating and cosmetology. During this time, she worked as a nursing assistant in different nursing homes and care facilities. After moving back to the Morris area, she met and married Dennis Wernsing. Together they had two children and raised them on their farm near Chokio. While raising children and crops they also raised cows, rhea, pheasants, and horses, but most notably, elk. If you ever knew Karleen, you know she loved animals. Their farm even became known as an “island for misfit dogs” as she never turned down a dog needing a new home.

Kar stayed at home with her kids until they went off to school. She often joked that, “When they went to school, I just followed them but stayed way longer than they did.” She worked at the Chokio-Alberta school district for over two decades. These were wonderful years for Karleen and she always looked back fondly on the time she shared with her students. During that time, she was also a Chokio First Responder and taught Sunday School music at Our Saviors Lutheran Church, where her beautiful singing was often louder and more enthusiastic than that of the children. For a season, Karleen needed to step back from a lot of those commitments when she was diagnosed with breast cancer and suffered from a brain tumor. Despite the hardship and wear on her body, she was a fighter.

All through her life, Karleen’s endless pursuit of conversation meant she never met a stranger. At times, this could be confusing for the person she had struck up a conversation with who had never met her before. However, after some witty banter laced with her fluent sarcasm, she quickly won over anyone in her vicinity. As you can imagine, outings (especially grocery shopping) took a little extra time with Kar but she typically came home with plenty of new acquaintances and stories. In her final years, even as communication became difficult, she still loved to interact with others. A few months prior to her death, both of her children noticed this during their last car rides with Karleen. No pedestrian was left without a smile, nod, and wave.

Karleen passed away peacefully on July 4, 2026, at West Wind Village surrounded by family. She was 68 years old.

Left to mourn are her husband Dennis Wernsing, son Tony (Rachel) Wernsing, and daughter, Anna (Matt) Dorweiler; grandchildren, Ben and Bob Dorweiler, Addie and Asher Wernsing; her sisters, Julie Bakken and Stacy Bakken (Darrin); many nieces and nephews as well as great nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, Eldon Bakken and Lorraine Bakken Giese, and Clarence Giese; her mother-in-law and father-in-law Frances and Earl Wernsing; her infant brother, and her sister, Alane Schauster.

The family would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to the entire community at Legacy, staff and residents, for their wonderful care of Karleen over the past two years. Thank you also to West Wind and Moments Hospice for tending to her so perfectly in her final days. Finally, thank you to all of the family and friends who took the time to visit her, especially towards the end when she was unable to do her favorite thing – smile and interact. Your kindness and love were seen. Thank you.

Pedersen Funeral Home in Morris is in care of the arrangements for Karleen.