Katherine (Kathy) Laursen, 75, of Walker, Minnesota, passed away peacefully in her home on Thursday, October 19, surrounded by her husband and children following a short battle with pancreatic cancer.  Her funeral ceremony will be held on Saturday, October 28 at Calvary Evangelical Free Church in Walker at 1:00 PM with Pastor Mark Widman officiating. Pallbearers helping to lay Katherine to rest are her grandchildren; Andrew Nielsen, Zachary Hrkal, Joshua Hrkal, Matthew Laursen, James Laursen, and Jackson Poetz.  Honorary pallbearer will be her grandson; Charles Laursen. Visitation will begin at 11:00 AM.  Interment will be in the Evergreen Cemetery at Walker following her Saturday service.

Kathy was born December 16, 1941, to Donald and Viola Corniea of Hopkins, Minnesota who moved to a small farm north of Tamarack, Minnesota, when Kathy was very young.  Her early education took place in a one-room country school where one teacher taught all six grades, and where the children, during recess, ran wild and unsupervised in the nearby forest.  Perhaps it was these early rambles, with only the natural world for entertainment, which led to Kathy's enduring love for nature and all things wild,  a love she shared and passed on to her children and grandchildren.

In the spring of 1959, while a senior at McGregor High School, she met her future husband, David Laursen, also of McGregor, who was attending college at UMD.   The couple were married that fall and took up residence in Duluth, where Kathy gave up a nursing scholarship to work nights at St Luke's hospital to help put David through college.  The couple then moved to Minnetonka where they resided for the next 27 years, and raised their four children.  During this period Kathy started her own business, Upholstery by Katherine, where she showed fabric during the evenings, upholstered furniture during the day, while remaining a stay-at-home mom.  In 1988, she and her husband moved to Walker, Minnesota, where they built and operated Peacecliff Bed & Breakfast for the next 15 years, entertaining visitors from all over the world.  Some came year after year to enjoy her cooking and particularly her famous waffles smothered in real whip cream and strawberries.

Kathy's interests and talents knew no bounds.  She had no brothers, so became her dad's hunting and fishing partner.  She learned to shoot, to pole a canoe, to pick wild rice -- and could keep up with the best of them.  She loved a duck blind in the fall, a Dakota pheasant slough, but most of all she loved her Jesus, and other people -- particularly children with whom she had an amazing empathy.  A young friend asked her daughter once:  "Why do I always cry when your mother hugs me?"   That was her gift.  To see hurt, and bring comfort.  She couldn't help herself.  To her family and friends she is irreplaceable.

Katherine leaves behind her husband of 58 years, David;  sons; Donald(Kelly) Laursen of North Bend, Washington, Scott (Theresa) Laursen of Ham Lake;  daughters; Laurie (Craig) Hrkal of Princeton,  Nicole (Troy) Poetz of St Cloud, and a dozen grandchildren, plus three sisters;

Barbara (Terry) Olson of McGregor, Nancy (Bill) Hartman of Duluth, and JoAnne (Joe) Skelley of Priest River, Idaho.

She was preceded in death by her parents and grandparents, a daughter, Bonita, who died a few days after birth, and a son who died during birth.

Katherine requested that any gifts be directed to the Calvary Church Children's Program.

Katherine’s care has been entrusted to Northern Peace Funeral Home of Walker, Minnesota.  Online condolences for the family may be left at www.northernpeace.com