Karen Ann Hoss, 84, of Sioux City, IA died at home on April 25, 2026 with her husband, Darrell, and her two children, Gregory and Julie, by her side.

A funeral mass will be held on Friday, May 1st at 11am at Church of the Nativity in Sioux City; a reception at Karen and Darrell's home will follow the mass. Visitation will be on Thursday, April 30th from 4pm to 6pm, with a rosary at 4pm and a vigil service at 6pm, at Meyer Brothers Morningside Chapel in Sioux City.

Karen, the fifth child of John and Armella (Freymann) Reisch, was born December 11, 1941 in Remsen, IA. She graduated from Remsen St. Mary's High School and attended the College of St. Mary's in Omaha, graduating from Morningside College in 1968. Karen spent her teenage summers working as a certified lifeguard.

On September 1, 1962, Karen married Darrell Joseph Hoss at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Le Mars, IA. Living briefly in Omaha they moved to Sioux City to raise their family in Morningside. They retired to an acreage north of Sioux City before moving back to Morningside in later years.

Karen's degree in social work led to a 34-year career with the City of Sioux City, retiring in 2007 as a Housing Specialist. She continued with her advocacy for the less fortunate by volunteering for the Catholic Women's League of Sioux City at its Bargain Center, distributing Communion for shut-ins in the diocese, and graduating from the Sioux City Police Citizen Academy.

Karen's passion was her family. With them she enjoyed traveling across the United States, Southeast Asia and to the Caribbean. She brought them back together at home for double-deck rummy games, movies, piano sing-a-longs and Iowa Hawkeyes women's basketball games. Summers were spent at the family cabin on Spirit Lake, where her children and 40 nieces and nephews celebrated many milestones together. Karen was a card shark and looked forward to her weekly ladies mahjong tournament!

Left to cherish her memory are her husband of 64 years, Darrell, of Sioux City; her son, Gregory, and his husband, Lars Etzkorn, of Washington, DC; and her daughter, Julie, of Sioux City. She will be missed by her longtime friends Mary Hauswirth, Leola Willets and Cathy Olson, all from Sioux City. She was preceded in death by her parents; her siblings Paula Miller, Marian Zenkovich, John Reisch, Carla Murray and their spouses; many of her husband's nine siblings and spouses with whom she was close; her beloved cousin, Nicholas Freymann; and her best friend, Patty Haegel.

The family would like to thank Missy Dudley and Tabitha Bugely from St. Croix Hospice, who helped take care of Karen during this last year.

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation in Karen's name to the Crittenton Center for children in Sioux City.