Karen was born May 13, 1941, in Watertown, South Dakota. She was the 6th of 7 children born to Rena and John Ackerman. She grew up in Watertown with a brief one-year departure to Springfield, Missouri where she and her mother and youngest brother Jack went to live while her sister Betty was going to college there. They returned to Watertown after a year and she graduated from high school in 1959. She met Jim Vlieger and they were married July 10, 1965. They moved to Chicago where Jim went to school to work for Delta Airlines. They moved to Las Vegas in 1967 where Jim worked for Delta. Betty and her family lived in Las Vegas and Karen and Jim quickly got involved in life and with their church Trinity Temple where all their close friends over the year went to church. She lived in Las Vegas until the time of her death June 13, 2026.

 Karen worked for Garrett’s Fine Furniture more years than we can count, and considered Arne and Lynn Rosencrantz, the owners, family. She and Jim loved traveling and with Jim working for Delta they were able to travel all the time. They traveled all over the world visiting friends and family that lived and worked everywhere. They traveled to all 50 states. They brought gifts of food and things to friends living abroad who could not get their favorite American products. In the United States they went to every wedding, special birthday, funeral, baby birth, you name it, occasion. They bought an RV in their later years and loved taking it to South Dakota for months at a time and they loved going to Lake Mead with their church friends. Karen also loved to entertain and had countless parties. 

Karen was active in church teaching Sunday School, singing in the choir and being active in women’s ministries. She and Jim were firm believers in missions and supported many missionaries. She loved going to Assemblies of God conventions visiting with people and talking about her time when she lived in Springfield, Missouri. She and Jim brought several children to church on Sundays over the years. In her later years she loved watching Jimmy Swaggart on television. 

Karen was preceded in death by her husband James (Jim), sisters Ruth, Avis and Betty, brothers Edwin, Robert and Jack, her parents John and Rena. She often mentioned she was the last one. She leaves behind numerable nieces and nephews and great nieces and great nephews all over the country.

 Karen would want you all to know she is in Heaven now and her wish is that you would accept Jesus into your heart so when you pass away you can go to Heaven, too. We are so thankful for the people who cared for her in her final weeks of life: Celeste, Liz and Robert. 

“For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” 2 Corinthians 5:1