Kari Jo Bostrom, child of God, entered eternal life on Jan. 31, 2017, at the age of 46.

She was born on July 3, 1970, to Shirley and Jake Bostrom. Kari is survived by her parents, Shirley and John Bostrom ’61, her sister, Kristin (Bostrom) Ellenson 89, brother-in-law Jim Ellenson, and two nephews, Luther and Hans.

Kari was baptized and remained a member of Christ Lutheran Church through her graduation from Menomonie High School in 1989. She graduated from Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, in 1993, earning a B.A. degree in Anthropology, Art and Museum Studies. She began work at the Wilson Place Museum and the Rassbach Museum in Menomonie and served there for several years. Kari then began working at the St. Louis County Museum at the Depot in Duluth, Minn. Her journey to Luther Seminary began with Lay School of Ministry while working at United Health Care in Eau Claire.

Her passion for history, and especially for honoring the personal stories of veterans, were developed in these positions. She would later put this love of historical research to work when she came as a student to Luther Seminary in St. Paul in 2005. She earned a Master of Arts in Church History in 2008 and a Master of Theology in History in 2015 from Luther Seminary.

While earning these degrees Kari began work in the Luther Seminary Arts and Archives program as a student worker. It was quickly obvious that she possessed strong abilities for the work of historical preservation and for excellent service to researchers. Later, Kari began work as a full-time employee of Luther Seminary and the upper Midwest area of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (the nine synods of ELCA Region 3).

Along the way and through her world travels, she remained an intensely dedicated friend to so many people, an active member of St. Paul Reformation Lutheran Church, a proud alumna of Luther College and Luther Seminary and a telling witness to God’s love of all people. She did this all with grace, infectious humor and a delight in life. We will miss her more than can be expressed.

Kari lost her cancer battle due to complications from chemotherapy.

A service at Luther Seminary was held Feb. 4. A Menomonie service was held at a later date.