Karen Stensrud (Johnson)
Click on picture to enlarge
640 NW 8th Place
Canby, OR 97016
503-266-7713
Okay—I admit it—I crashed the 30th reunion. I didn’t graduate with the class—I left our sophomore year. But since I went to Lakeshore (K-6)—was there when Jason Lee was brand new—I’ve always considered Columbia River my alma mater---so when I stumbled upon the high school alumni website I jumped at the chance to go to the reunion and renew old friendships.
My parents divorced which caused me to move away in 1968…I went to high school in Amity, Oregon the rest of my sophomore year and junior year. Then we moved to Stevenson, Washington for my senior year. I then went to Clark College and saw a few of my “old” CR classmates while I was enrolled in the nursing program there. My Dad had passed away during my senior year and when my Mom was killed in a car accident while I was at Clark-- I went back home to Stevenson and finished raising my 16 year old brother, Lewis.
During that time I worked where I could---waitressing, bartending, nursing, and office work and fell into a job with the US Forest Service, which turned into a career for me. I still work for the Forest Service in Sandy, Oregon in the personnel department. I love my job and the people I work with. They have been a great support to me for the last 23 years.
Along the way I managed to make some bad choices in husbands, and good choices in kids. I have finally settled (for the last 18 years) with a great guy, Chuck. He is a timber manager for a company who owns mills in Oregon, Florida, and Utah. We live in Canby, Oregon. Between us we have four children who give us moments of joy and (fewer) moments of despair. We are looking forward to the time when we are grandparents, but I guess we’re just not old enough yet!!
I spend most of my free time on the golf course and we take several long weekend trips during the year traveling to various places with friends—always with clubs in tow.
I am so happy to have re-connected with some of my childhood friends that I can hardly stand myself!! I hope everyone else enjoyed the reunion as much as I did. See you in 5 years (or less now I guess!)