Karen D. McKusker, 47, of Burlington, passed away Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025 at Aurora St. Luke’s Medical Center.
Born in Marengo, Iowa on Dec. 13, 1978, she was the daughter of James and Donna (nee Voss) McKusker. Her early life was spent in Marengo. She lived in Burlington since 1992, where she graduated from Burlington High School, Class of 1999.
Karen worked in the laundry department for Mt. Carmel Care Center and was a piece worker for VARC. She was a member of Burlington United Methodist Church.
Karen was very artsy-fartsy, loving arts and crafts. She worked with clay, did cross-stitch and loved cooking in crockpots. She enjoyed attending farmers markets and anything dog related. She was very social and could make friends in under a minute.
Karen is survived by her mother, Donna; nieces and nephews, Amelia, Kaiden and Morgan; siblings, Kevin McKusker, Krystal (Pete) Richter and Kyle McKusker; and dog Lady Bug. She was preceded in death by her father.
The family would like to thank the doctors, nurses and staff at St. Luke’s Medical Center, especially Dr. Gupta and the ICU nurses.
In lieu of flowers, please donate to your local humane society in honor of Karen.
Services for Karen will be held on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026 at Noon at Schuette-Daniels Funeral Home. Relatives and friends may visit with the family following service until 3 p.m.
For online condolences, please visit www.danielsfamilyfuneral.com.