Karen A. Luken

Karen A. Luken, 74, of Sioux City, died Friday, March 20, 2015, at home surrounded by her family after a two-year battle with ovarian cancer. The Mass of Christian Burial will be at 10 a.m. Tuesday at Cathedral of the Epiphany with Father William Vit, Jr. as Celebrant. Burial will follow at Memorial Park Cemetery. Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Monday, March 23, 2015 at Meyer Brothers Colonial Chapel with the family present from 6 to 8 p.m. and a vigil service at 7 p.m. Karen was born October 9, 1940 in Marshall, Minn., to Earl and Violet Luken. The family also lived in Sioux City, Hinton and Sioux Falls. In 1959, Karen graduated from Sioux Falls Washington High School where she began her journalism career as a writer for the Orange and Black student newspaper. Karen earned a bachelor's degree in journalism in 1963 from South Dakota State University (SDSU), Brookings, where she was a member of the Honor Society. She completed an internship at the Sioux Falls Argus-Leader. Following graduation, Karen and a classmate spent the summer traveling through Europe. They paid their expenses by working at a hospital in Ulm, Germany. Karen joined The Sioux City Journal, then located at Fifth and Douglas streets, on September 9, 1963, as a general assignment reporter. She was assigned to the police beat in the mid-1960s and became the wire editor in the late '60s. She advanced to copy editor, assistant news editor, and news editor during the 1970s and 1980s. She was named managing editor/news in October 1989. Karen's career at The Journal spanned more than four decades of news coverage that ranged from routine local stories to a tragedy that made headlines around the world: the crash of United Flight 232 on July 19, 1989. Karen won numerous newswriting and editing awards from the Iowa Associated Press Managing Editors Association (APME) and the Iowa Press Women. In 1969, she won the Iowa APME Sweepstakes Award for a 10-part series on juvenile delinquency. She was elected president of the Iowa APME in 1994. She retired from The Journal on December 29, 2006. Karen was a charter member of the Greater Sioux City Press Club. As president in 1975, she initiated the Press Club's scholarship for college journalism students. She wrote and acted in the Press Club's annual Gridiron shows which spoofed news, newsmakers and journalists. She taught newswriting at Morningside College in the 1970s. After retiring from The Journal she was the membership coordinator for the Sioux City Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center Association. Karen was a member of Cathedral of the Epiphany Church where she served as a Eucharistic minister and a lector. She was a member of the Sioux City Garden Club and was passionate about gardening. She delivered Meals on Wheels and was a strong supporter of the Food Bank of Siouxland and Iowa Public Television. Karen is survived by her sister Joanne Williams, of San Diego, Calif.; Don Miller, her partner of 48 years; nieces Tammy Skaggs, of Seattle, Wash., and Cindy Gonzalez, of San Diego; nephews Michael Williams and Scott Williams, both of San Diego; 12 great-nieces and great-nephews; and 13 great-great-nieces and great-great-nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents. Contributions may be made in Karen's memory to Food Bank of Siouxland and Iowa Public Television.