Karolee Mae Hogden of Winona, MN, passed away on April 7, 2026, at the age of 84.
She was born on June 23, 1941, to Arthur and Inez (Hare) Hogden in Mondovi, WI. She graduated from Galesville-Ettrick High School and Saint Francis School of Nursing in La Crosse WI, then served as an Army nurse during the Vietnam War. Karolee was formerly married to high school classmate, Jerome Church, with whom she had four children.
Karolee valued education and earned a BSN at Viterbo University, a MS at UW-Madison, and an MBA at UW-La Crosse. Her first love was nursing, but her career path led her from serving as an RN at the VA in Tomah, WI to retiring as the CEO of Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs, CA.
Karolee enjoyed reading (preferably with a cat nearby), walking, traveling, and watercolor painting. She was known for her competence, inquisitive mind, keen observational skills and intuitive insight. Those who loved her understood that she gave direct advice and had a life-long aversion to “guilt trips” and talking on the phone.
She is survived by her children: Mandy (Chad) Dull, Marcy (Jeff) Van Fossen, and Bradley (Jenna) Church, eight grandchildren, four step-grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren, and her brother John (Kari) Hogden and other relatives. She was preceded in death by her parents and an infant son, Brian Church.
Funeral service will be 11 a.m. Friday, May 15, 2026, at French Creek Lutheran Church, N22953 County Road T, Ettrick, WI. Visitation will be from 9:45 - 10:45 a.m. in the church. Interment will be in the church cemetery.
Please direct any memorials to: Saint Francis School of Nursing Scholarship, c/o Viterbo University Advancement Office, 900 Viterbo Drive, La Crosse WI 54601.
Services entrusted to Fawcett Junker Funeral Home & Crematory, Winona, MN. www.fawcett-junkerfuneralhome.com
Fawcett Junker Funeral Home & Crematory
