Karen Lea Holmstrom

Karen Lea Childers Holmstrom was born on July 8, 1948, to Ora Lea Chernosky and Tommy Whitley Childers in Gonzales, Texas. Karen went to be with her Lord and joined her beloved husband, James Carroll Holmstrom, on January 23, 2023. She was a baptized and confirmed member of Gethsemane Lutheran Church.

She lived her first 18 years in the small town of Waelder, Texas with her parents, sister, Valerie Sue Volk, brother, Tommy Max Childers, and beloved grandparents, August and Novella Chernosky. She graduated from Waelder High School in a class of fifteen. She went to work for the Texas Department of Public Safety in 1967 and retired in 1998 after 31 years of service.

On May 15, 1982, she and her beloved husband, James Carroll Holmstrom, were married at Gethsemane Lutheran Church. With the marriage came Carroll’s three children, daughter, Jan Carole Kruse, and sons, Russell Jay (Marylin) and Terry Myall (Tammy) and their families.

She is also survived by her brother, Tommy Max Childers, sister, Valerie Sue Volk, beloved nephews, Kevin Lynn Laake and Jason Allen Whitley Crozier, niece, Misty Renee Greget, and their families, her guardian angels, Brian and Diana, and their beautiful angels, Addison and Matthew.

Karen and Carroll loved their retirement years and being able to travel with their much loved Greta and Sofie. They enjoyed many trips to Tennessee. Karen especially loved the Great Smoky Mountains. She felt truly blessed to have been able to share her life with Carroll and all those she loved.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in Karen’s honor to Gethsemane Lutheran Church, 200 W Anderson Ln., Austin, TX 78752, or to the ASPCA, www.aspca.org .

A Celebration of Life will be held on Monday, January 30, 2023, at 11:30 AM at Gethsemane Lutheran Church in Austin. Interment will follow at Hutto Lutheran Cemetery.