Karen K. Parker, 77, founder of the (Ontario) County Line, died on Monday, April 1, at Mayo Clinic Health System in La Crosse.
Born Jan. 25, 1947, in Monroe, to Edwin and Ethel (Lichtenwalner) Kundert. At age 9, Karen was taken in by Alfred and Gretta Goepfert of Monroe, who raised her as their own daughter. She graduated from Monroe High School in 1965. She went on to earn a sociology degree from Elmhurst College in Elmhurst, Illinois, in 1971. In college, she met Thomas Parker, whom she married on June 28, 1968, in Chicago.
She started the County Line in November 1983. The newspaper initially covered Ontario and Norwalk, later expanding to Kendall and Wilton. Parker, who was known for her weekly Backtalk columns, served as publisher and later publisher emeritus for 40 years.
“If anyone had told me in 1983 that 40 years later, this enterprise would still exist, I would have assumed they were smoking the weed,” she wrote for the newspaper’s 40th anniversary in November 2023.
She was active in the Wisconsin Newspaper Association and served on the WNA Foundation Board of Directors from 2005 to 2012. She worked part time up until her death.
Private services will be held at a later date. The Torkelson Funeral Home of Ontario is assisting the family with arrangements.
