Karen M. Leonard of Mukwonago, age 83, passed away on December 15, 2021, after a short illness.

She was born October 26, 1938, in Mountain, Wis., to Nels E. and Beatrice E. (Bauerfeind) Sandberg. The family also lived, at times, in Lakewood, Laona, and Florence. She graduated from Florence High School in 1956. After one year of secretarial school in Milwaukee, she worked four years at Miller Brewing Company. She married a fellow employee, Richard “Dick” Leonard, on November 7, 1959, in Milwaukee. He passed away in 2009.

Karen and her family moved to Mukwonago in 1973. Using her secretarial background, she supported Dick’s business in New Berlin, Fireplace Systems. She enjoyed volunteering for community groups, which included the Mukwonago Women’s Club, the AFS foreign exchange club at Mukwonago High School, St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church (where she was a member), and the Literacy Council of Greater Waukesha. Through the AFS program, she and the family hosted Elizabeth Earl (Australia, 1978-79) and Andres Diaz Gonzales (Mexico, 1982-83), who has stayed very close to the family. She also enjoyed knitting, solving puzzles, bird watching, watching Brewers baseball, and playing cribbage and mahjong with family and friends.

Her parents, husband, and one brother, Karl G. Sandberg, preceded her in death. She is survived by three children: Scott (Kevin Shirley) of Washington, D.C., Susan (Kevin Haag) of Long Lake, Wis., and Jon (former Stacy Stupar) of Mukwonago; four grandchildren: Jacob Haag, Samuel (fiancée Alexis) Haag, Allison Leonard, and Joshua Leonard, all of Mukwonago; three great-grandchildren: Addisyn, Allisyn, and Jordan Haag; and many other relatives and friends.

The family thank the staff of ProHealth home hospice service and AngelsGrace Hospice for their kind and thorough attention in Karen’s last days.

Visitation will be held on Friday, January 7, 2022 at St. John's EV. Lutheran Church (410 W. Veteran's Way Mukwonago) from 12 NOON until the time of the Memorial Service at 2 PM.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggest memorial donations to AngelsGrace Hospice in Oconomowoc, St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Mukwonago, or the Literacy Council of Greater Waukesha.