Karen Matison Hess, 71, of Bloomington, Minn., formerly of Austin, died Dec. 19, 2010, of respiratory failure.

Karen was born April 11, 1939, in Austin to George and Marie (Barnitz) Matison.

On July 21, 1962, Karen was united in marriage to Dr. Sheldon T. Hess in Austin.

Karen was employed with both Innovative Programming Systems, Inc and Normandale Community College. She devoted her professional life to education including teaching and writing textbooks. She was actively involved in many local and national professional and civic organizations.

Included in her many accomplishements are a Bachelor’s of Art in English, a Bachelor of Science in Education, a Master’s in Educational Psychology, a PhD in Education and another in Criminal Justice, as well as honors and distinctions in her field too numerous to list.

Karen is survived by her best friend and husband, Sheldon; children: Christine (Craig) Orthmann and Lt. Col. Timothy (Bobbi) Hess, USAF; five grandchildren; siblings: Judy Ealy, Jim (Janice) Matison, WIlliam (Jacqueline) Matison, and Debra Tucker as well as other family and friends.

Memorial services will be held on Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2010, at 11 a.m. at Washburn-McReavy Edina Chapel, 50th and Hwy 100, Edina, with a gathering of family and friends one hour prior to services. Interment will be held privately at a later date. In leiu of flowers, the family prefers memorials to the Karen Matison Hess Memorial Fund at any US Bank location.