Carol McKernan, 94, Owatonna
Carol Ramona McKernan, 94, died on Dec. 7, 2023, in Owatonna, following a brief hospitalization.
Carol was born on Christmas Day 1928 in Hinckley, Minn., the youngest of the six children of Ella Haner and George Choquette. Carol had two children, Toni LePage and Joe Abel. Her marriage in 1973 to the love of her life, Kenneth (Mac) McKernan, made her heart sing; Mac passed away in 1984 after 11 short years of their blissful marriage and Carol never had another partner, knowing Mac was the one.
After caring for Toni’s daughter Kelly for several years, Carol moved to Arizona in 1985 to be closer to her son, Joe, and his family. During her years in Mesa, Ariz., she made countless friends and was a loyal member of her church. Carol felt called to return to Minnesota in 2005 to be near Kelly.
Shortly after moving to Owatonna, she joined St Paul’s Episcopal Church where she fell in love with the church teachings and the congregation and found comfort and family. She was a beloved member of the church, and took pleasure in helping manage the Food Closet and prepare Christmas baskets for those in need. It was a rare occasion when she did not attend Wednesday Bible study or occupy her pew to revel in Father Michael’s Sunday sermon.
A member of AA for over 70 years, Carol had six decades of sobriety. She went back to school to become a Chemical Dependency counselor and created the AA program at Abbott Northwestern Hospital, one of the very first interfaces of physical, spiritual, and psychological addiction care, where she helped many individuals with mental health and sobriety.
Carol is remembered for her unwavering devotion to family; her dedication to and compassion for people struggling with addiction or abuse; her quiet and steadfast faith and love of God; her wry sense of humor; and her passion for birds, hiking, and football. She was a careful and attentive listener, a great friend to many who relied on her steady counsel, and the matriarch of an extended family who adored her.
Carol was predeceased by her five siblings, her three husbands and her son Joe.
She is survived by her daughter Toni LePage (Roger Weise); grandchildren and great-grandchildren are Kelly Van Esch (Toni Van Esch) and her children Devin and Jordyn Maas of Owatonna; Tosha Abel (Carl, Claudia and Carvell Franklin) and her son Zackery Helton of Owatonna; and Brandon Abel (Samantha Abel) and his children Anastasia, Jillian and Natalie Abel of Gold Canyon, Ariz.
A service will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 6, 2024 at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Owatonna.