She was born Sept 9, 1944, in Huron, South Dakota, the daughter of the late Alfred Hanson Jr. and Florence (Bowder) Kowalski.

She is survived by her daughter Robin Thompson (Jay) of Glasgow; her siblings Carol McCoy (Mike), Kathleen Menasche (Lee Thompson), Cynthia Goldberg (Michael), and Harold Kowalski Jr. (Patty); grandson, Lt. Col. Sean Thompson (Alyson) stationed at Ramstein Air Base, Germany; granddaughter, Courtney Steinert (Kael) of Lexington; granddaughter, Ashley Thompson of Richmond, and four great-grandchildren. Her husband, Marlyn Klunder, passed away five days after her death.

She was a talented artist and art teacher in the North St. Paul, Minn., area for over 30 years before her retirement in 1999. She was known for inspiring her students and being an innovative teacher, enhancing the traditional classroom instruction to showcase their talents. Her love of art crossed many mediums, including stained glass, pottery, painting and photography.

Although she suffered two strokes after her retirement, she never gave up trying to recover. She enjoyed traveling the United States with her husband until 2020 when Covid brought them back home to live full time. She enjoyed her flower gardens and designing things.

A joint memorial service and inurnment with her husband Marlyn will be held Aug. 27 at 10 a.m. at Fort Snelling Veterans Cemetery in St. Paul, Minn.

Arrangements are by Harrison Funeral Home and Crematory.