Karen A. Holmstrom

Karen A. (Billups) Holmstrom, 79, from Magnolia, IL died Tuesday, April 14, 2020, at the Bayfront Port Charlotte Hospital in Florida.  Karen was born on October 28, 1940, at St. Margaret’s Hospital, Spring Valley, IL, to Lloyd and Eva Billups.  She was the oldest of two children.

Karen attended and graduated from the Magnolia/Swaney Schools in Magnolia, IL and McNabb, IL.  She married Duane “Humpy” Holmstrom in 1962 and later divorced, having four children.  She was a member of the Mt. Palatine Church, the Magnolia Fire Department, and the Marshall/Putnam Farm Bureau.  Karen worked for Owens Glass Factory and Caterpillar.  She owned and operated the Silver Dollar Saloon in Magnolia and she was a truck driver of various companies until her retirement.

Karen will be deeply missed by her three sons, Brett Holmstrom of Magnolia, Michael Holmstrom of Magnolia, and Patrick (Karla) Holmstrom of Magnolia; daughter Peggy Smith of Magnolia; nineteen grandchildren and twenty-six great-grandchildren, with one on the way.  She was preceded in death by her father Lloyd in 1963; step-father Clarence (Pete) Dose in 1998; mother Eva in 2015; brother Thomas Billups in 1999; grandparents, John and Kathrin Theniki and William and Della Billups.

A Celebration of Life will be held at a later time in Illinois with Dysart-Cofoid Funeral Chapel.  In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations are made to the Magnolia Fire Department or the Magnolia Township Preservation Association.

To express condolences to the family and share in celebrating the life of Karen, please visit www.JohnsonTaylorFuneral.com and sign the online guestbook.  Arrangements are by Johnson Taylor Funeral and Cremation.