Karen Nelson, 74

Karen was born on May 9, 1951, to Edwin and Mary (Matheson) Renner. She was the oldest of 4 children and grew up in the Norfolk area graduating from Norfolk High School. In June 1969 she married Roscoe (Ross) Goodpasture. 

They moved to Ainsworth where she was a homemaker. Two children were born to this union. Karen & Ross later divorced. In June 1979 she married Tim Nelson and they raised a son together. With her husband’s job in the casino industry, they lived in several locations including Lake Tahoe, Carson City, New Orleans, and eventually settling in the Omaha/Council Bluffs area. Karen cleaned for some neighbors and at the condos where they lived. 

Karen was a lovely seamstress sewing beautiful creations for herself, her children, and grandchildren making their extravagant costumes for her favorite holiday Halloween. She worked for House of Fabrics in Carson City. She also loved anything from the Victorian era, the colors blue and purple, music from Fleetwood Mac, the movie “Gone with the Wind,” odd numbers, bird watching, flowers and scarecrows. If you became her friend, she was your friend for life! Every greeting card received from her contained small hand-written notes in every available blank space even taking sentences up around the corners of the card. Her job with Barnes & Noble in Omaha fed her love for reading. Her favorite book was “The Great Gatsby” and she and Tim traveled to Scotland to visit the home of its author F. Scott Fitzgerald as well as the home of Victorian author Beatrice Potter.

Karen was a tender, compassionate soul and always saw the world through “rose-colored glasses.” While still married to Ross, she was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Initially, she lost her ability to walk but her strong will got her back up on her feet until the past several years where she needed a wheel chair to get around. Over the 53 years of her illness, she felt best on cloudy or stormy days due to the low atmospheric pressure. 

Karen died during the quiet early morning hours of Friday, June 13, 2025, at her home in North Bend. All her family had come home to celebrate her 74th birthday just weeks before when she was still talkative and interactive. 

Karen was preceded in death by her parents, Edwin and Mary; a premature daughter; in-laws Claude and Nelle Nelson; son-in-law
Steve Dittmer; and her first husband Ross. 

She is survived by her husband of nearly 46 years; son Travis and wife Amalia Goodpasture and their family Ava, Emmelyn and Isela of Rancho Murieta, Calif.; daughter Tori Dittmer of Holyoke, Colo., and her family Skyler in Lakeland, Fla., Peyton in Salem, Ark. and Deacon in Holyoke, Colo.; son Robert Nelson and grandson Bentley of Omaha; brother Doug Renner of Carroll; brother Dennis and wife Elaine Renner of Norfolk; sister Dianne Renner of Albion, along with numerous nieces, a nephew, many cousins and special animal friends Bosley and Penny. 

A celebration of life will be held at Karen’s home 210 E. 12th Street in North Bend starting at noon on Saturday, July 26, 2025, and will continue throughout the afternoon. She always enjoyed people stopping by and would love to have her home filled with family and friends for this event.