Karna Hoaglund
Obituary Reports the death of an individual, providing an account of the person’s life including their achievements, any controversies in which they were involved, and reminiscences by people who knew them.
Karna Lynne Hoaglund died on Nov. 29. She was 80.
Born Karna Lynne Bjorklund on Dec. 30, 1941, to Katherine and Lorence Bjorklund in Croton Falls with both parents being artists, she grew up curious and creative. An animal lover from a young age, she would have a wide variety of pets throughout her life, from dogs and cats to birds and monkeys. If it could be tamed, she probably had it as a pet.
A well-rounded scholar-athlete, she played a variety of sports growing up, and continued to play basketball and volleyball through her senior year, where she was also named valedictorian of North Salem High School in 1959. She was a published author at a young age, writing a book in her early 20s on Native Americans, “The Indians of Northeastern America,” which was illustrated by her father.
She went on to study at Colby College in Maine before transferring to New Paltz College to earn her teaching degree. This is where she met Robert Hoaglund, whom she would spend the rest of her life with as husband and wife, best friends and parents of three children – Kim Breidenbach (Tommy), Kristin Jandzinski (John), and Erik (Amy). In addition to her children, she is survived by seven grandchildren: Keith, Summer, Karna, Maya, Grady, Camden and Thatcher.
Professionally, she taught a number of different elementary school grades before settling in as a kindergarten teacher to hundreds of fortunate Yorktown students for the majority of her 30-year teaching career.
In her free time, she loved to travel, spend time at her summer house in Maine, collect shells at her favorite beach in South Carolina, tend to her garden and plants, read and enjoy life with friends and family.
In lieu of flowers, please honor her memory by enjoying your family, friends and favorite things as Karna loved to do before she was afflicted with the cruel repercussions of an Alzheimer’s/ dementia diagnosis.
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