Karen Kathleen Taufer

Karen was born to Edmund Peter Kaltenbrun and Mildred Marcella Teumer Kaltenbrun in Sheboygan, WI. She graduated from Sheboygan South High School in 1964. As an adult, she traveled across the country entertaining as a singer/guitarist, and she first set foot in Elko, NV in September of 1968. She lived and worked for the US military as an entertainer for the troops in South Vietnam from January 1969 to September of 1969.

On June 6, 1973, she married Donald R. Taufer in Reno, NV, and they settled in Elko shortly after. Karen started her own successful business, Stay-At-Home Pet Care in 1986, which continued until she closed it 33 years later. She earned her CTC (Certified Travel Counselor) from The Travel Institute in Wellesley, MA, and managed Murdock Travel Agency from 1987 to 1997. She was also the Community Involvement Coordinator for the local Super Walmart store for several years, and was a volunteer and board member for several local non-profits. Her passion was for the local pets and service to her community. She was a lifelong Lutheran and member of St. Mark Lutheran Church for 40 plus years until moving to Las Vegas in September of 2020.

Survivors include her husband Don Taufer, Las Vegas, NV; daughter, Liberty Taufer Fay (Shawn), Las Vegas, NV; son, Jesse Alan Kaltenbrun (Martin Edward Long), Oregon, WI; granddaughter, Melody Fay, Las Vegas, NV; grandson, Creighton Long, Oregon, WI; granddaughter, Mercedes Long, Oregon, WI; grandsons, Quinn, Raleigh, and Kelly Taufer; grandson, Kevin LeRoy; daughter-in-law, Carol Blank; step daughter, Denise Taufer LeRoy; and two great grandchildren Jordan and Emmalyn Taufer. She was preceded in death by her mother and father, brother, Kent Karl Kaltenbrun, and two granddaughters, Alexis Long and Kassia Long.

Karen's past involvement in the community: member of the Lions Club International, past president of the Elko Lion's Club, past secretary of the Spring Creek Ruby Mountains Lions Club, past zone and region chair of the NV District 46 Lions, founder and past president of the Animal Relief Foundation of the Elko County Humane Society, past chairwoman of the board at the Vitality Center, BOD of Girl Scouts of the Sierra Nevada, volunteer and representative for the Retired & Senior Volunteer Program, volunteer and representative for the United Way of the Northern NV & the Sierras, chairwoman of the board of the United Way of the Great Basin, Elko Chamber Ambassador, and Trustee of the Lions Camp Dat-So-La-Lee. Memorial Services will be on October 28th, 2020 at 2:00PM. Tentative location will be St. Mark Lutheran Church. A Reception will follow. Masks will be required to protect the high risk individuals that will be in attendance.