Karen T Zimmermann

Karen Zimmermann born in Waukesha, Wisconsin June 11, 1944 into the Cletus and Leona Bautz family of seven children. Karen was a loving mother to her three children, Joe Taylor (TX), Jennifer Taylor (WI), Jessica Maloney (WI), and two grandchildren Katherine and Megan Maloney. She had a smile that could light up a room and a sense of humor that guided her through her most difficult times. As a newly divorced, single mother, she put herself through nursing school and obtained her LPN Certificate from MATC in Watertown, WI in 1984. After a career in nursing and caring for the elderly in a few area nursing homes, she became a licensed phlebotomist and enjoyed meeting new people donating blood and plasma in Waukesha, WI. Upon retirement, Karen married Bernard Zimmermann and they enjoyed several years together before his passing. She loved to endlessly bake - breads were her specialty and she managed to keep her kids (and their coworkers, and extended family) well stocked with baked goods from her kitchen. She was also an avid reader and found inspiration from Jordan Pederson in her later years. Her unique ability to overcome extremely difficult circumstances many times in her life, and find the humor and joy in life’s journey up into her final days, is one of inspiration for those that met her. She will be dearly missed by her family, friends, and amazing staff at the London Lodge who cared for her.

She is survived by her sisters Elaine Gray, Marilyn Rosecky, and Loretta Grabske, her brother Nicholas Bautz, and her children Joseph (Joe) Taylor, Jennifer Taylor, and Jessica Maloney, and grandchildren Katherine (Katie) Maloney and Megan Maloney, Goddaughter / niece Amy Fowler, as well as many nieces, nephews, and other family members, close friends, and colleagues.

She was preceded in death by parents Cletus and Leona Bautz, her late husband Bernard Zimmermann, and her sisters Margaret (Margie) Wuchterl and Dorothy Bautz.

A funeral service of Catholic Mass will be held on October 24, 2026, at 11:00am, at St. Bernard’s Catholic Church in Watertown, WI. There will be a lunch reception with memorial to follow at her sister’s farm in Watertown.

In lieu of flowers, we suggest making a donation to London Lodge, where Karen found excellent care, a staff that loved her, and she cared for them as well. Please use the Venmo @Jessica-Maloney44 or you may mail a check directly to London Lodge, W9095 London Rd, Cambridge, WI 53523. Note: please put KZ memoriam in the memo line. Funding will help those in need of care services who cannot afford them.