Karen Mae Killian

Karen Mae Killian, 88, of Yankton, South Dakota, passed away peacefully on March 14, 2026, at the Sister James Care Center in Yankton.

Born on July 13, 1937, in Yankton to Peter and Freeda (Weier) McGillick, Karen was raised on the family farm north of town. The middle child of three, she attended Irene Public School through eighth grade and later worked on the farm and as a babysitter. At eighteen she took a job at Mean’s Cleaners in Yankton, where she met Marvin Killian. After a year-long courtship, they married on December 30, 1957, at St. Columba Catholic Church in Mayfield. The couple shared a love of dancing and socializing with friends, and together they became active members of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Yankton.

Karen and Marvin raised two daughters, Kay and Tammi, in their home on Cedar Street. In the early 1960s Karen opened Karen’s Daycare Service, which she operated from their home and later from a second house she purchased on Cedar Street. Over more than four decades she lovingly cared for well over one hundred children. She also enjoyed baking and cooking for family and friends, visiting with neighbors, and sharing her unmistakable, loud, and contagious laugh. After suffering a heart attack in 2005, she retired from daycare and mourned the loss of her beloved husband Marvin later that same year. Even through grief, she remained devoted to her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, finding joy in concerts, church, and time spent with loved ones. In 2022 she moved to the Sister James Care Center, where she resided until her passing.

Karen was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Marvin, her brothers Wayne and Terry McGillick, and her sisters-in-law Joan McGillick, Audrey McGillick, and Loretta Braunesreither. She is survived by her daughters Kay (David) Hofer and Tammi (Allen) Hofer, both of Yankton; her grandchildren Tiffany Hofer, Brittany (Max) Korus, Heather Hofer, and Matt (Samantha) Hofer; and her great-grandchildren Finley and Maeva Korus, Daniel Robinson, Carson and Aiden Hofer, and a soon-to-be-born great-granddaughter.