Dr. Frank Karner

Dr. Frank Richard Karner

Frank Richard Karner, 86, went home to be with the Lord on January 31, 2021.  As a young man, Frank accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Savior.  The family rejoices and takes comfort in the knowledge that Frank is now in Heaven; restored and better than ever!

Frank was born August 14, 1934 to John and Risa Karner.  He grew up in Wheaton, Illinois with his sister, Ilse, and brother, John.  Frank graduated from Wheaton College in 1957 and later earned a PhD in Geology at the University of Illinois.  He married Joan Egeland of Park Ridge, Illinois on March 22, 1958.

In the fall of 1962, Frank and Joan moved to Grand Forks, where Frank was a Professor of Geology at the University of North Dakota for 39 years.  They were blessed with four daughters and one son. The family was very involved in Faith Evangelical Free Church from its beginning in 1963.  Over the years, Frank served in many positions in the church including Sunday School teacher, Deacon, and Church Chairman.

Frank was an avid handball player who planned and participated in many tournaments.  Frank was a collector of rocks, stamps, coins and work hours from his children.  He was known to his family as a hard-core scrabble player, a maker of awesome chocolate sauce for ice cream, and each of his children always believed they were his favorite.

Frank is survived by his wife, Joan; and children, Kathy (Scott) Bourret of Palm City, FL; Deb (Tom) Piche of East Grand Forks, MN; Sandy (Kelly) Baranick of Woodbury, MN; Judy (Kevin) Rue of Rochert, MN; Jim (Kris) Karner of Salt Lake City, UT; 15 grandchildren and 14 great grandchildren.  He was preceded in death by his parents and siblings.

The funeral service will be held at 1:30 pm on Friday, February 5, 2021 at Faith Evangelical Free Church in Grand Forks.  Visitation will be one hour prior to the service.   To view the live stream funeral, please visit  https://youtu.be/1-7-rBKI8Yk