Karen Ann Rohlfing

Karen Ann Rectanus was born on May 14, 1947, in Pittsburgh, PA to Howard Milton Rectanus, Jr. and Regina Mae Ziegenhein Rectanus. She was baptized and confirmed in the Lutheran church, and she was nourished in her faith—especially in her love of the hymns of the church—by her parents and grandmothers. Karen attended North Allegheny High School and graduated in 1965. She would sometimes share that she was not a stellar student in high school, but through the efforts of her pastors and by the grace of God, she was admitted to Midland Lutheran College (now Midland University) in Fremont, NE. She joined the Phi Omega Sorority and thrived in the nourishing student and faculty environment. She made the dean’s list her senior year and was named to Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities. Karen graduated with a B. S. in Education and was the first student in her senior year education class to get a teaching job.

At the end of her junior year in 1968, she joined the adult contingent of the Midland Lutheran College a cappella choir tour to several European countries. At the instigation of the choir director’s wife, she became acquainted with David Carl Rohlfing in Gothenburg, Sweden, and so began the story of David and Karen. They were married on June 28, 1969, at St. John’s Lutheran Church of Highland in Pittsburgh shortly after graduation. Karen and David spent that summer on David’s parents’ farm in Lewellen, NE, and Karen firmly let it be known that she did not want to be a farmer’s wife! In the fall of 1969, they moved to West Lafayette, IN where David had been accepted into the Ph.D. program in physics at Purdue University. Karen obtained a first-grade teaching job at Klondike Elementary School in Tippecanoe County and began her elementary teaching career. During summers and evenings, Karen worked toward a Master of Science degree in elementary education and graduated from Purdue in 1972.

In 1974, son Mark Rohlfing was born in Lafayette, IN. The following year, David finished his Ph.D. degree and was offered a teaching job at their alma mater, Midland Lutheran College. During their first years back in Fremont, Karen took care of the children of other young Midland faculty members, which cemented many lifelong friendships. In 1977, daughter Lynne Rohlfing was born. When Mark and Lynne were in preschool, Karen taught part-time at a rural school in Saunders County, NE.

In 1980, the family moved to Bartlesville, OK where David took a job at the Phillips Petroleum Research Center. They joined the newly formed Our Savior Lutheran Church and began a thirty-year work of love where Karen poured her time and energy into the children’s and worship programs. She treasured her lifelong friends at Our Savior and enjoyed hosting parties and coordinating numerous projects that were close to her heart.

In Bartlesville, Karen continued her teaching career, first at Good Shepherd Presbyterian Pre-School and later as a teacher at Jane Phillips Elementary School. She worked hard to give her second grade, first grade, and kindergarten students (her favorites!) the best six hours of their day. Her students knew her to be firm but loving, and she went above and beyond by giving them experiences that would expand their horizons and expose them to music and the arts. In 2005, she was named Jane Phillips Teacher of the Year. True to form, Karen forged lasting friendships with her teaching colleagues and with David’s closest work colleagues and friends.

During her time in Bartlesville, Karen established two literacy programs. Books for Babies put a children’s board book in the hands of new mothers at Jane Phillips Hospital. And Taking the Library to Children established themed kits with children’s books and interactive toys and games that parents could check out of the local public library.

In 2009, David and Karen retired and moved to Bloomington, IN to be nearer to their children and beloved grandchildren, Thomas and Louis. They were also excited to be near the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University! They designed their retirement home, affectionately known as “Treetops,” in the woods north of Bloomington. Filled with Karen and David’s warmth and welcome, many found rest, laughter, and music at Treetops throughout the years. While the house was being built, Karen started volunteering at Summit Elementary School, this time helping the teachers instead of teaching the children! In retirement, she also wrote three children’s books and took great joy collaborating with others to bring her books to reality.

During her retirement years in Bloomington, Karen also developed an interest in making paper boxes and other small containers. Many friends have received her boxes filled with shortbread, chocolate, or other treats. Karen also invested her time and energy at St. Thomas Lutheran Church in Bloomington, serving at various times on the church council and worship committee, and singing in the choir. Her gifts of hospitality, organization, and creativity were on full display as she and several close friends planned and prepared for various receptions and church events. She also volunteered at the newly constructed hospital, welcoming and assisting patients and their families.

In 2023, Karen and David left their home in Bloomington and made the timely move to Bethany Village in Centerville, OH, to be nearer to their daughter and to have the benefits of a continuing care retirement community. Karen was quick to join exercise classes and make friends in their new home. She continued her paper box-making hobby and facilitated box-making workshops for other Bethany Village residents, always with the instructions to “regift, reuse, and recycle!” And she hosted an ice cream sundae party for all the neighbors on the street as a way to say “thank you” for welcoming her and David to the community. Not one to miss an opportunity for a good party, she and David also enjoyed hosting a party for David’s choir friends from Epiphany Lutheran Church.

Throughout her life, Karen loved to travel with her favorite travel partner, David. Together, they lived by the motto, “Do it while you can!” This mindset, and their enthusiasm for learning, took them to England numerous times as they sought to visit 26 medieval cathedrals across England, a dream which came to fruition in 2022. They also enjoyed riverboat cruises down the Rhine River, to Portugal, to Croatia, along the Seine River from Paris to Normandy, and in southern France. Karen and David established wonderful friendships with several cruise members over the years.

But Karen was not one to keep a good thing to herself! In celebration of 50 years of marriage, she and David took Mark and his family and Lynne and her best friend on a family trip to Italy in 2018. And, in 2022, they again shared the joy of travel with Lynne and their grandson Louis as they traveled together to London and Paris. During their last European trip together in 2024, Karen and David traveled to Germany to meet David’s distant relatives, then joined Louis for travels in Germany and Switzerland.

Karen prioritized her family relationships and valued her time spent with loved ones far and near. She was the catalyst for many Rectanus/Apel family reunions at her parents’ summer home near Ligonier, PA—gatherings which hold a special place in the hearts of those who attended over the years. They were indeed the best of times. She also enjoyed wonderful times visiting David’s parents, cousins, aunts and uncles, and grandparents in western Nebraska. During the Covid pandemic, she initiated quarterly Zoom meetings with her Midland sorority sisters, a practice that will continue. Having maintained many relationships with the Midland University community, Karen was also instrumental in establishing the Women of Midland Scholarship Fund.

Karen was a generous, loyal, loving, energetic woman who found joy in bringing people together and was intentional about maintaining those relationships. She was always eager to help others and energetically supported those she loved. She had enthusiasm and zest for life, loved learning, and was deeply committed to her faith. Her joy, positivity, and love will be deeply missed.

Karen was preceded in death by her parents, her aunt Ruth (Ziegenhein) Boal, her uncle Earl Rectanus and wife Derlie Mae (Dee), her aunt Dorothy (Rectanus) Weightman and her husband Don, her uncle Larry Rectanus, and her cousin Chelsea Rectanus.

She is survived by her husband of 55 years, David C. Rohlfing of Centerville, OH, son Mark David Rohlfing and his wife Jayne of Muncie, IN, daughter Lynne Suzanne Rohlfing of Dayton, OH, grandsons Thomas and Louis Rohlfing of Muncie, IN, brother Mark Rectanus of Boca Raton, FL, brother Howard Rectanus and his wife Linda of Vancouver, WA, aunt Hazel Rectanus of Westminster, MD, older cousin Ken Apel and his wife Harriet of Pittsburgh, PA, older cousin Edward Behm of Martinez, GA, older cousin Linda (Apel) Brown and husband David of Cypress, TX, and numerous younger cousins.

Cremation is being arranged by Tobias Funeral Home. A funeral service will be held at 11:00 am on March 22, 2025, at Epiphany Lutheran Church, Centerville, OH with visitation at 10:00 am. The service will be followed by a luncheon at the church.

A memorial service and celebration of life will also be held at St. Thomas Lutheran Church in Bloomington, IN on March 29, 2025, at 10:30 am with visitation at 9:30 am and followed by a luncheon at the church.

Memorial gifts in Karen’s memory may be sent to the Bloomington Bach Cantata Project at BBCP, Bloomington Early Music, P.O. Box 734, Bloomington, IN 47402, or to the Women of Midland Scholarship Fund at Midland University, 900 N Clarkson St, Fremont, NE 68025.