Karen Cohrt

1945 - 2022

Karen (Blanchard) Cohrt, 77, died Nov. 28, 2022, in Grinnell, Iowa. Visitation will be held from 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 4, at Phillips Funeral Home in Keystone. Interment will be held at a later date. Karen was born June 20, 1945, to Howard and Frances (Ozburn) Blanchard. Karen graduated from Van Horne High School. Karen married Robert Hathaway Sr. and had two children, Rob Jr. and Chris. She married Gary Cohrt in 1982. The couple had one daughter, Heather. She worked at Amana Refrigeration for 25 years, after retirement she took on part time jobs at the Dollar General and the Benton Quick Stop. Karen was an avid Iowa Hawkeyes fan and animal lover. She also enjoyed gardening, decorating for Christmas, any outdoor activities and going to all her grandchildren’s activities. Karen is survived by her children, Rob (Kandi) Hathaway of Belle Plaine and Chris (Mike) Vest of Grinnell; grandchildren, Laurynn Kaiser of Blairstown, Samantha (Eric) Brecht of Amana, Blake (Nicolle) Youngman of Belle Plaine, Chelsey (Jared) Steckly of Parnell and Ariel (Lindenmayer) of Marengo; siblings, Cathy Anderson of Garwin, Roberta Bulman of Cedar Rapids; seven great-grandchildren; and sister-in-law, Doreen Blanchard of Keystone. She was preceded in death by her parents; daughter, Heather (Cohrt) Kaiser; brother, Cliff Blanchard; sister, Carol Meyers; and nephew, Jamie Blanchard. Condolences can be mailed to 1519 Third Ave., Grinnell, IA 50112. Online condolences may be left at www.phillipsfuneralhomes.com.