Karen Ella Bretey

Karen Ella Bretey, age 84, of Urbandale died peacefully on November 19, 2022 surrounded by family. Karen was born to parents Carl and Nellie Meyer of Denison, Iowa on July 25, 1938. She was one of 6 children and the oldest of 3 daughters. She grew up on a farm near Denison.

Karen went to parochial school from kindergarten through fourth grade. She and her two older brothers either walked or rode their bikes the two miles to school. They switched to public school when she was going into fifth grade and rode the school bus. She met the love of her life, Gerald Bretey, on that same school bus when she was in eighth grade. The summers when she was 13, 14 and 15 years old, she detasseled corn. At that time there were no machines so she had to walk the rows. Being a petite 5 ft. 2 inches made that a very grueling job.

Shortly after Karen turned 16, a new women’s clothing store named Ellerbrock’s opened in Denison. They chose one teenager to work in the teen department. The owners recognized Karen’s sweet and caring spirit and she was hired for this very coveted job. She worked every day after school and on Saturdays and every day during the summers.

After graduating from Denison High School, she worked at Mutual of Omaha in Omaha, NE in the mailroom. After working there for one month, she was one of four girls whom Mutual of Omaha chose to attend IBM School paid for by the company. They went to classes in the mornings and worked in the afternoons for six months. Upon completion of the course, they were employed full time by Mutual of Omaha.

Karen married her high school sweetheart, Gerald, on July 12, 1958 and they went on to have three children. They lived in Ames while Gerald finished college and Karen worked in the Statistics Lab on the Iowa State Campus. She started as a keypunch operator and was soon promoted to helping program computers. She also typed thesis papers for grad students in the evenings and on weekends.

Gerald had a long career in broadcasting and they eventually became owners of radio stations in Mason City, until selling them in 1990. From 1998 - 2020, they owned a livestock feeding business. During Gerald’s broadcasting career they lived in Ames, Waterloo, Fort Dodge, Cedar Rapids, Kenosha, WI and Yankton, SD. They moved to Clive, IA in 1999 and have lived in Deerfield Retirement Community since 2017.

Once they became parents, Karen chose to be a stay at home mother until her youngest child left for college. At that time, she assumed the role of Office Manager for their Radio Stations in Mason City.

She was very active in church and school organizations often serving as President or as a Board member and spent a lot of time volunteering at hospitals in Cedar Rapids, Mason City and Kenosha, WI.

Karen was a very devoted and loving mother; always putting the needs of her children before her own. She doted on her grandchildren and spent countless hours attending baseball games and any other activities they were involved in.

Survivors include Gerald, sons Scott (Charo), Edina, MN; Steve (Robin), Mason City, IA; daughter Stacie Palmer (Austin), West Des Moines, IA; 6 grandchildren: Stephanie Venner (Jake) of Andover, MN; Sam Bretey of Bellevue, NE, Sara Bretey of Tea, SD, Grant Palmer of Scottsdale, AZ; Natalie Bretey of Minneapolis, MN and Ben Palmer of Scottsdale, AZ, and 3 beautiful great-grandchildren. Also brothers Richard Meyer, Denison; Robert Meyer, Hot Springs, AK; John Meyer, Council Bluffs and sister Annie Kroll, Charter Oak.

A visitation will be held on Tuesday, November 22nd, 2022 from 10:00-11:00 am with Mass of Christian Burial to follow at 11:00 am at Caldwell Parrish Funeral Home, 8201 Hickman Rd., Urbandale, Iowa.