Shirley Karsten

Shirley Karsten of Fulton, Illinois, formerly of Savanna, Illinois, died suddenly on Friday, August 19, 2016 at Mercy Medical Center North, Clinton. A funeral Mass will be held at 1:00 p.m., Thursday, August 25, 2016 at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, Savanna. A visitation will be held from 11:00-12:45 p.m., prior to the mass at Law-Jones Funeral Home, Savanna. Burial will take place in Fulton Cemetery, Fulton. A memorial fund has been established in Shirley’s memory.
Shirley was born on December 11, 1959, the daughter of Walter and Shirley (Schumacher) Staron in Elgin, Illinois. She attended school and was raised in Lake of the Hills, Illinois at Irving Crown High School. Shirley married Mark A. Karsten, Sr. on January 15, 1977 in Kane County, Illinois and later divorced in 2009. She moved to Savanna, Illinois in May of 1999 to be closer to her family. Shirley was a homemaker and was the glue that held her family together. She was always there for her family and friends to lean on. Shirley had a beautiful smile, good heart and a loving soul. She loved life and all of the beautiful things that came with it.
She will be forever loved by her daughter, Jennifer (Nash) Wilson of Fulton; one son, Mark A. Karsten Jr. of Savanna; six grandchildren, Maria, Anna, Nathaniel and Cole Hartsell and Chelsea and Cherish Wilson; one great grandson, Jude Varela; her mother, Shirley Staron of Lake of the Hills; one brother, Edward Staron of Lake of the Hills; and two sisters, Gail (Dennis) Vogt of Las Vegas, Nevada, and Linda (Wally) Potts of Wisconsin.
She was preceded in death by her father, Walter; and her great grandmother, Anna Schumacher.