Karlene R. Janssen, age 70, of Shawano, formerly of Little Chute, passed away on Thursday, December 04, 2014 in Shawano. She was born on November 12, 1944 in Freedom, WI to the late Theodore and Ruth (Appleton) Meulemans. On June 4, 1964 Karlene was united in marriage to Don Janssen at St. Nicholas Church in Freedom. Karlene enjoyed her winters in Texas with her son, daughter-in-law and grandkids. She enjoyed baking and baked everybody's favorite desserts for birthdays and holidays. Karlene loved nothing more than to have sleepovers with her grandchildren. Karlene is survived by: her husband of 50 years, Don Janssen of Shawano; her 4 children, Randy (Beth) Janssen of Little Chute, Debbie (Rick) Nelson of Green Bay, Sarah (Mike) Olmsted of Bear Creek and Troy (Lisa) Janssen of Texas; her grandchildren, Kevin, Allison, Jacob, Katie, Nicholas, Amanda, Morgan, Mallory and Brady; her great grandchildren, Bristol and Devin. Karlene was preceded in death by her parents. Memorial services will be held at 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, December 7, 2014 at the Swedberg Funeral Home in Shawano with Rev. John E. Smith officiating. Visitation will be held at the funeral home on Sunday from 3:00 p.m. until the time of the service. The family would like to extend a special thanks to the Shawano Ambulance and the Shawano Police.