Dorchester Times: Rural Dorchester's Karen Sysel Passes At 76

Sunday, March 29, 2026

Rural Dorchester's Karen Sysel Passes At 76

Karen Kay (Hagelstein) Sysel, age 76, of rural Dorchester, passed away peacefully on March 22, 2026, at St. Elizabeth Hospital in Lincoln. She was born on Jan. 13, 1950, at Bryan Hospital in Lincoln. Karen was baptized March 26,1950 and confirmed May 23, 1965, at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Wahoo. Karen married Deryl Sysel on November 16, 1974, at First Lutheran Church in Lincoln. To this union they had one daughter, Debra Kay.

Karen attended Wahoo elementary and high school through the first semester of her junior year when her family moved to Rock Falls, IL. She graduated from Rock Falls in 1968. Upon graduation, she worked at the Cerebral Foundation. In 1969, her family moved back to Lincoln where she worked for Central Service Company for 5 years. Growing up, Karen swore that she would never marry a farmer, but that soon changed when she met Deryl Sysel. They made their home SW of Dorchester where they farmed for nearly 50 years. Soon after moving to the farm, Karen wanted to learn how to drive the truck and tractors to help Deryl in the field. She enjoyed spending time in the field with Deryl and Deb and looked forward to their annual family vacations. Karen also enjoyed attending Young Farmers Conventions with the Lorenz and Hayek families, where many memories were made over the years.

Karen was a Gold Star member of the American Legion Auxiliary #82 Wahoo and VFW Post 4502 Wahoo. She was a former member of Crete Young Farmers, Girl Scout leader and member. She also held several positions in Farmers Union, both at the county and district levels, holding many different officer positions. She was also a school board member of District #57.

Karen enjoyed spending time with family and friends. Her greatest joy was attending her grandsons' events and helping on the farm. She enjoyed hosting family and friends where she was able to cook and bake for them. She was a dedicated caregiver for Deryl.

Karen is preceded death by her husband, Deryl in February 2022, parents: Ken and Delores Hagelstein, parents-in law: George and Elsie Sysel, brother-in-law, Joe Mares and nephew, Brad Kasl.

She is survived by her daughter and son in law, Deb (Nate) Shaw, grandsons: Landon and Connor, sister-in-law, Cheryl Mares, niece, Sheri (Kevin) Schuetze and their children: Carter and Atley, aunt, Ruth Heiser, family friend, Dale Lawver and many cousins.

Services were March 26 at the Dorchester United Methodist Church. Click here to leave condolences for the family.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Village Dweller checks all reader comments to determine if they are appropriate for print.

Dorchester: A Good Little Family Town

Dorchester, Nebraska (est. population 630) is located in northern Saline county. Close in proximity to Interstate 80, Dorchester is only 25 minutes from the state capital of Lincoln (est. population 250,000) and about 55 minutes from Omaha (metro population 725,000).

Dorchester's median resident age is 37 years. In 2005, Dorchester had a median family income of approximately $35,600. The median house value was about $63,000. About 95 percent of Dorchester residents commute to work via Interstate and highways.

The village has a quality public school, which received a $4.1 million expansion and modernization in 2008; it offers a small classrooms and individualized attention. Total enrollment of grades K-12 is around 230-250 students.

Ancestries of the Dorchester area are primarily German (42.4%), Czech (24.9%), Irish (12.5%), English (5.4%), and Dutch (4.9%).

Dorchester Historical Facts

* On July 4, 1871, the railroad reached Dorchester.
* Incorporated in 1881, Dorchester's population grew from 200 to 500 by 1882.
* In 1882, Dorchester had 90 buildings, 35 of which were businesses or public facilities. Brick buildings lined both sides of Washington Avenue for two blocks.
* Dorchester's longest-running newspaper was The Dorchester Star, which was published until the late 1940s.
* By 1889, Dorchester's population is said to have reached 800, while the town housed an opera house, a two-story brick schoolhouse with a bell tower, and four churches.
* By the 1910s, Dorchester had electricity, a water tower and a fire department.
* Dorchester's main arteries, Highways 6 and 33, were graveled in the 1940s.
* Dorchester's first irrigation well was drilled on Chris Weber's farm and rural electrification was finished following WWII.

A Village with History

Dorchester is one of the "alphabet towns" on the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad line built west from Lincoln. The town site was selected for its pleasant location in the northern part of Saline County, about eight miles west of Crete. This situation is an attractive one, being on the level prairie land, midway between the West Blue River and Turkey Creek. The first named stream is three miles north, and the latter about the same distance south from the town. Dorchester was platted in 1870 and incorporated in 1881. The name "Dorchester" came from either for a suburb of Boston by that name or a town in England. No one is sure. Two of the very first settlers were James Seely and Edward McIntyre, who both made Dorchester their permanent home.

Dorchester: In The Beginning

Here is a look at Dorchester around 1890, less than a decade after its official incorporation, as documented by Andreas' History of the State of Nebraska:
* POPULATION: "About 300, and is made up of a substantial and progressive class of citizens, who are moral and industrious. ... The town grew but very little until the year 1879, for the reason that Pleasant Hill, on Turkey Creek, a short distance south, was the county seat and naturally drew a trade for quite a large scope of country."
* BUSINESS: "The business and professional interests of the town are represented by three general merchandise stores, two drug, one grocery, one furniture, two hardware, and two millinery stores, one bank, two restaurants, two hotels, three livery stables, a post office, one newspaper office, two elevators, two lumber yards, two coal yards, two blacksmith shops, two lawyers and four physicians."
* SCHOOL: "The schoolhouse is a good one. The schoolhouse was built in 1872, since which time the public schools have been continually kept up. The present schoolhouse is 24' x 40' in size, two stories high. The school is graded and consists of three departments. The house is found too small, and arrangements will soon be made to increase its size."
* CHURCHES: "There are three substantial churches."
* HOMES: "The residence portion of the village is made up of neat houses of different styles of architecture, but none of them very large."
* NEWSPAPER: "The Dorchester Star, which was established August 21, 1881, by H. C. Bittenbender, who edited it until January 19, 1882, when he sold it to Ryerson & Bullock, the present proprietors. The Star is a bright weekly paper, five-column quarto, in size, and is Republican in politics."