Audrey M. Keim

Audrey Mae Keim was born July 17, 1930, in Bellville, Illinois. Her parents were the late Arthur Adam and Olivia Kathryn (Langsdorf) Keim. Audrey graduated from high school in Red Bud, IL in 1948. During the summers, she enjoyed helping her dad with all the paperwork at one of the many grain elevators he worked from.

She married Donald Neil Runge of Chester, IL, in 1951. While Don served as a military police officer in the Korean War, Audrey stayed in the United States to finish her teaching degree and later completed her Master’s Degree in education at the University of IL. She started her teaching career at a one-room schoolhouse in rural, southern Illinois with approximately 8 students in all grade levels.

In 1960, Don and Audrey, followed his parents from southern, IL, and moved to Anaheim, CA, where their first and only living child, Kent, was born. Audrey began her 30 year-long career of teaching Home Economics at the nearby Loara High School.

On May 28, 1975, Donald Runge, took his own life at their home. Audrey was only 45 and Kent just 14.  It was a devastating time for the whole family.

Audrey continued teaching Home Economics at Loara High School preferring to teach sewing and needlecraft and enjoyed helping with the cheer leading program. During her teaching career there, she met Edgar Brown who served in the Navy in World War II as a radar operator and again in the Korean War.

Ed and Audrey were married in Las Vegas on July 16, of 1979, in the “spur of the moment”. They resided at the same home where Kent and Audrey were living, in Anaheim, CA. They continued teaching at Loara High School, until retiring and moved to Sun City, CA, where they volunteered their time and made many friends at March Air Force Base. Ed and Audrey loved traveling together and went around from military base to military base experiencing different parts of their country as often as they could. During those long drives together, Audrey did what she liked best: she cross stitched many pieces for herself (she loved decorating for different holidays) and for her daughter-in-law, Laurie Anne Runge.

Audrey’s second husband, Edgar R. Brown, passed away on February 15, 2007.

In 2007, Kent, Audrey’s only child, and his wife, Laurie, moved her to Fergus Falls, MN, to be near where they resided in Otter Tail County, MN. She quickly got involved at the local senior center, where she made friends and attended many concerts and theatre productions and visited parks and gardens in the surrounding area. Audrey loved to be entertained and to go out to eat. She was considered the “perfect traveling companion” by one of her younger friends from the senior center. He said she didn’t care where they went, as long as they went somewhere. Audrey was also very faithful in attending many of her high school reunions in southern Illinois up to her 70th reunion in 2018.

While living in Fergus Falls, Audrey became part of her adopted granddaughter, Elisa Mae’s, life.

When her son’s family moved to Wadena, MN, Audrey moved to a comfortable, one bedroom apartment in an old, three story, restored motel called The Commercial Apartments in July of 2016. As Audrey’s macular degeneration continued to invade her eyes, much to her own frustration, she put her sewing, cross stitching, knitting and crocheting aside.

In the spring of 2020, Audrey was struggling with increasing dementia. Kent and Laurie moved her to a very kind, family adult foster care home in Ashby, MN, where she got the assistance and care she needed. In October of 2021, her son, Kent Runge, passed away at the young age of 61 in his home in Wadena. Audrey, Laurie and Elisa Mae were devastated to lose Kent, but began praying together weekly, at their visits.

On July 1 of 2022, Audrey ended up in the hospital after a serious fall. She then relocated to another family adult foster care home, back in Fergus Falls called Life Song Residence; the owner was a former friend and colleague of Kents.

In late January of 2023, Audrey contracted COVID-19 and spent time in the hospital. Just days later, she fell at her adult foster care home, sending her to the hospital again. Audrey spent a week in the hospital before moving to Tree of Life Assisted Living in New Munich, MN. On March 2, 2023, Audrey passed away peacefully in the care of Moment’s Hospice at Tree of Life Assisted Living at the age of 92. The resident’s tiny dog, curled up with her and stayed with her during her last night on this earth, as her hand was being held by three caring staff members. Audrey has “finished her race” on this earth and joins those who’ve gone before her in eternity. We will see you again, Audrey.

Preceding Audrey in death were her parents, Arthur and Olivia Keim; husbands: Donald Runge and Edgar Brown; son, Kent Runge; sister, Evelyn Edna Rae Keim Sutherland and her brother-in-law, Richard Sutherland II.

Audrey is survived by her daughter-in-law, Laurie Anne Runge of Alexandria, MN; granddaughter, Elisa Mae Yadessa Runge of Alexandria, MN; two step daughters, Kimberlee and Valeree Brown of AZ; a step grandson, Jens Brown and Staci; and two step great grandsons, Caleb and Zane Brown also of AZ; one nephew, Richard Sutherland III of CA (and his family), and one niece, Nanci Smith of AL (and her family) and, of course, a few cousins and friends.

It was Audrey’s preference, as told to Laurie in April of 2022, to not have a funeral service at her passing.  She had paid for cremation with Karvonen Funeral Home while residing in Wadena and wanted to be “sprinkled at sea” in the same manner as her navy husband, Ed Brown.

Please visit www.karvonenfuneralhome.com to leave memorials and condolences on Audrey’s Tribute Wall.

Arrangements provided by Karvonen Funeral & Cremation Service of Wadena, Minnesota.