A Memorial Service for Julie Karstens, age 86, of Spirit Lake was held on Saturday, December 6, 2025, at 11:00am at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Spirit Lake.
Julie Karstens died on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 27, 2025, after a long illness. She was surrounded by loved ones and passed peacefully, without pain, on to her eternal home.
She was born August 18, 1939, in Hastings, Iowa, to Catherine (Lehman) Weiss and Rev. Oswald Emil (O.E.) Weiss. Her family moved around Iowa during her childhood before settling in Wall Lake, Iowa, where Julie graduated from Wall Lake Community Schools in 1957.
After graduation, Julie attended Valparaiso University, Iowa State University, where she was a member of the Chi Omega sorority, Northwest Missouri State, and the University of Nebraska Omaha, where she earned a degree in 1961.
On April 17, 1960, she wed Virgil Karstens in Wall Lake. They settled in Gretna, Nebraska, where Julie and Virgil raised three children, helped found a church, and made many lifelong friends. Julie was a teacher in Omaha Public Schools for 35 years and, in 1990, earned her Master’s in Education from the University of Nebraska Omaha.
In 1999, Julie and Virgil retired to their dream house on East Lake Okoboji and started a new life in Spirit Lake. They threw themselves into their new home, volunteering through community groups and the congregation at Immanuel Lutheran. Julie and Virgil eagerly gave their time to Hospice, Meals on Wheels, J.O.Y. Camp, the Joyful Voices adult choir, the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League, and many other charities.
To her family, Julie was a wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, and dear friend. To Virgil, she was a companion and his one true love for almost 70 years. To her children, Julie was a spiritual light and standard for all that was good. She never missed sending a birthday or anniversary card, and when you called, she was glad to hear your voice. When she had a good recipe or a hard-earned life lesson, she was always eager to pass it along.
Julie was perhaps her best as a grandmother and deeply loved her four grandchildren, Emma, Elle, Karsten, and Ian. She rarely missed a game or school program and was so proud of all their accomplishments. Her true joy, along with Virgil, was watching their grandchildren grow up enjoying life at the lake. When they came to visit, she would greet each grandchild with a big hug and stand back beaming with pride.
Julie was an avid reader and for years kept journals. She fussed over her plants, would leave you in her dust on her many walks, and could whip up a home-cooked meal in no time. Julie was proud to have visited every state, checking off No. 50 – Hawaii – in 2010 to celebrate her and Virgil’s 50th anniversary with their children and grandchildren.
Illness slowed her down, but it never stopped her. One of her final accomplishments was getting the doctor’s approval to visit her children and grandchildren in Des Moines for the holiday. There, on Thanksgiving Day, she died as she lived – peacefully and full of gratitude, surrounded by the ones she loved most.
Julie is survived by her husband, Virgil, of Spirit Lake; daughter Kristin, of Spirit Lake; daughter Tara Samples (Mitch), of Waukee, Iowa, and their children, Emma, Elle, Karsten, and Ian; son Tim (Sandra) Karstens of Lincoln, Nebraska; brother Richard Weiss (Paula) of Charlotte, N.C., sister Jan McKernan of Cape Girardeau, Missouri; sister Cathy Dickerson of Council Bluffs, Iowa; brother-in-law David Montag of David City, Nebraska; and many beloved nieces, nephews, their families, and many, many friends.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Catherine and Rev. O.E. Weiss; stepmother Ruth Weiss; sisters-in-law Patricia Montag and Clarice Murchie; and brothers-in-law Duane (Mac) McKernan, David Dickerson, and Daniel Murchie.
Memorials can be dedicated to the family for a general fund they will distribute equally to Julie’s many beloved charities.
Turner Jenness Funeral Home was in charge of the arrangements.
