Ada I. Kirscher (Karlsson)

Ada passed away peacefully on March 31, 2024 at age 79, with her family at her side after a brave fight with bilateral strep pneumonia.  

Preceded in death by her adoring husband, LeRoy. 

Survived by her children, Melinda (Mike) Richardson and Krista (Doug) Weidendorf; her grandchildren, Lindsey, Kayleigh, Cayden, Jocelyn; and step-grandchildren, Corey, Tony, and Matt.   

Visitation Wednesday, April 10^th from 4-7 PM at Mueller-Bies Funeral Home – Roseville, 2130 North Dale Street at County Road B, also from 10 – 11 AM on Thursday at the church.

Funeral Service Thursday, April 11^th at 11 AM at Roseville Lutheran Church, 1215 Roselawn Avenue West.

Interment at Forest Lawn Memorial Park. All are welcome to return to the church for the luncheon following the burial.

Ada grew up in Minneapolis with her mother Joscyline (Bone Lake, WI) and her father Otto Karlsson (Sweden). An only child, she loved to spend time with her aunties and often spent time with them in WI where they were born and raised. Ada went to Central High School in Minneapolis, MN. She graduated in 1962.

Ada graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Gustavus Adolpus in 1966. Even then, she loved the theater, she sang in chapel choir and will be remembered for her great monologues. Many of her best friendships started here.

That year, she and 12 of her classmates toured the Scott Air Force Base near St. Louis, where they were shown how to evacuate wounded military and civilians. On this trip, she met one of the drivers of the bus, LeRoy.

On January 28, 1967, Ada and LeRoy were married. She then had stepchildren Robert, LeRoy Jr, Roseannette, James, Catherine, and Jerome. As a stepmother, Ada was nurturing and understanding, especially when they became adults and had their own children. We’re not sure where Ada’s quote of “Never let your children outnumber you” exactly came from, but it could have started as early as this.

Melinda and Krista were born a few years later. She passed her creativity to her family, serving many years as Camp Fire Girls Co-leader. She and her daughters participated in many camps and programs. Ada taught her girls what was important to her; creativity, volunteering, donating, more singing, puzzles, and photography.

In 1980, LeRoy passed away. Now a single mom, her children at home outnumbered her again. She continued to work hard and play hard and with the help of friends and family, to prove to everyone she was going to be just fine.   

She worked hard as a Labor and Delivery nurse for 40 years. First at Bethesda and then at St. Joes. When asked about it, she would always conclude her story with…“I shut them both down.”  

Ada loved to tell stories of her travels or of things she had done, always with a great deal of animation and energy. The stories will be remembered, but no one will tell them like Ada did. Ada was proud to have traveled to all seven continents, some more than once. Her travel stories and her photo books are amazing.  

When the grandchildren started coming, nursing took a backseat so that she had more time to help. Eventually she retired and had all four grandkids at one time! The grandchildren will remember that time fondly. There are stories that she made the best alphabet soup and something referred to as Sewer Sludge (A Pesto bruschetta with tomatoes and chicken). Grandma loved to learn, and she loved to share that information. She continued her crafts with them, they played Bananagrams for hours…and then there were those dreaded workbooks. What a great bond she developed with her grandchildren during that time, Kayleigh, Lindsey, Cayden, and Jocelyn. As the girls got older, Ada started taking them to Chanhassen Dinner Theater each year to celebrate their birthdays.  A tradition they intend to continue.

Ada loved to garden, whether it was flowers, or vegetables; a love instilled in her when she was young. She shared that love with all of us, especially those many trips to Luck. We have been learning about the flowers, the trees, and her favorite, the invasive species. A few years ago, Ada set up a Hugelkultur (German word for mound or hill for a raised plant bedding) for our vegetable garden in Luck. She had been preparing a map drawn out of her yard flowers and directions on how to proceed with transplanting going forward. Her family hopes to get this right.

Ada’s friendships have always been very important and it’s clear by the outpouring of the love the family is receiving now. It is clear that this love and friendship went both ways. Many of these friendships go back to college, some even elementary school. Many of these friendships are from church.

Ada joined Roseville Lutheran Church in 1983. The choir gave her the ability to sing praises to the Lord and that was so important to her. Ada was an avid knitter all her life, so when the knitters and prayer groups started, she was there. At least two of those trips, Tanzania and Italy, were with Roseville Lutheran Church.  

Ada was a caregiver and she turned no one away. Ada would take time to hear every word you had to say. She would ask you about your children and friends and always wanted to know what they were up to and if they were okay. She loved her long walks through the woods until two years ago when her leg started bothering her and the downed trees were too much. Last summer, those walks became walking up and down her street on flat pavement every day or two from home. This is where the best stories came from and the ones we will take with us.  

Ada has always been strong in her Christian faith. We know she is in a better place now where she can sing and dance again. Ada was very generous with her compassion and with her donations. In lieu of flowers, she would want you to pay it forward. We would love for you to make a donation to your favorite charity or to the Roseville Lutheran Church Organ Project. A project that was very important to her and one that she followed closely.