Heaven got a little bit brighter on January 14, 2018, when The Lord took Karen home to bask in His divine glory.
Karen Kay Kirn was born on March 19, 1946 in Poplar, MT to Gilbert and Nellie (Lucht) Kirn. When she arrived she was greeted by two older brothers, Albert and Bob, 10 & 9 years older, who she remembered took her to the movies and roller skating. Karen attended Poplar Schools for nearly all 12 years with a short hiatus in Arizona in grade school. She graduated from Poplar High School in 1964. During her Junior year she met Dave Ruffatto. They married in Poplar in 1965 where they maintained a home for 2 years. From this union their only child, daughter Diahn, was born. In October 1969, they moved to Plentywood where they lived for 21 years. During these years they met wonderful, life-long friends with whom they made many memories. Karen worked at Ben Franklin where she was in her element, the fabric department. In 1990, Karen and Dave moved to Sidney. Karen’s work in Sidney included Sylvia’s Knit and Sew, Ribbon & Rail, and her own sewing and altering studio. You may see a trend forming…..more fabric! She loved to sew and was inspired at age 10 when she saw a girl take some scrap fabric and made a doll “in no time”. She was hooked! From that moment on she was creating all types of items from clothing to curtains to table ware and more. Anything you can think of to create with fabric, Karen has probably sewn! Her greatest achievement in fabric artistry came from her daughter’s wedding in 1989. She completed a wedding dress from 4 patterns that encompassed 99 hours total with 75 hours hand stitching hundreds of beads. Truly a piece of art from her heart. In addition, she created the bride’s headpiece, veil and bouquet, her Mother-of-the-Bride’s dress, the Grandmother-of-the-Bride’s dress, 5 brides maid’s dresses, the flower girl’s dress, the wedding party’s bouquets and boutonnieres, the long-stemmed rose rice bags and the pew decorations. Not only was she great at creating with fabric, she was a wonderful construction worker with her husband. She helped him finish the basements in 2 homes, along with several remodeling and building projects. Dave always said he would rather work construction with Karen than anyone else! Her ideas and creativity were endless and she was always thinking of the next project or decorating idea to add to their warm and inviting home. Up until a couple of years ago, Karen continued to do alterations, even after she quit working outside the home. Her cooking was second to none, and greatly improved with inspiration from her Mother-in-Law, Annie. She also enjoyed reading a good mystery novel and loved watching mysteries on TV. 10 minutes into the movie, she would know “Who did it” and was ALWAYS right!
Karen is survived by: her husband of 52½ years, Dave; her daughter, Diahn (Ray Skogen); 3 sisters-in-law; 5 nephews and 7 nieces.
Karen was preceded in death by her parents, Gilbert and Nellie Kirn, her mother & father-in-law, Tony and Annie Ruffatto, her two brothers, Albert and Bob Kirn, 4 brothers-in-law, 4 sisters-in-law, and 6 nephews.

Thank You