{"id":4370,"date":"2020-01-16T14:28:40","date_gmt":"2020-01-16T14:28:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/sitenews\/2020\/01\/16\/kari-paulsen-wife-of-former-world-church-president-jan-paulsen-dies-at-85\/"},"modified":"2020-01-16T14:28:40","modified_gmt":"2020-01-16T14:28:40","slug":"kari-paulsen-wife-of-former-world-church-president-jan-paulsen-dies-at-85","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/kari-paulsen-wife-of-former-world-church-president-jan-paulsen-dies-at-85\/","title":{"rendered":"Kari Paulsen, Wife of Former World Church President Jan Paulsen, Dies at 85"},"content":{"rendered":"

16 January 2020 | Drammen, Norway [Mark A. Kellner \/ Adventist Review \/ ted<\/em>NEWS] <\/p>\n

\u201cShe struck me as sincere and kind and as a big support for her husband standing tall by his side,\u201d reflects Trans-European Division President Raafat Kamal. \u201cWe as a TED office family are saddened by the loss of Kari Paulsen and we share in the grief at this sad time. We offer our prayers and condolences.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/a>Kari lived a life of faithful service and support, much of it in the TED (or former Northern-Europe West Africa Division) before her husband, Dr Jan Paulsen, took a leadership role first as vice-president, and then as president of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists based in Silver Springs, Maryland, USA.<\/p>\n

Upon retirement, it was Kari\u2019s desire to return to their native Norway and it is here, in Drammen, that she passed to her rest on 10 January 2020, age 85.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all need somebody who listens to us at some time or another,\u201d Kari Paulsen told Ministry magazine in 2006, describing how, as the wife of a Seventh-day Adventist Church administrator, she was able to find a personal ministry despite the limitations of chronic illness. Her phone ministry, calling those who need encouragement was an integral part of her life.<\/p>\n

\"Kari<\/a>\u201cMrs Paulsen was a very capable person and a strong support for Pastor Paulsen in his life and their ministry together over many decades in different parts of the world,\u201d said Ted N. C. Wilson, current world church president, in a post on his Facebook account.<\/p>\n

Rajmund Dabrowski, former communication director for the world church, noted a close bond with the Paulsens: \u201cI felt that they were our second parents,\u201d he told Adventist Review. Having first worked with Jan Paulsen in the Trans-European Division, and then while Jan was General Conference president, Dabrowski noted the family commitment Kari Paulsen had.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we were abroad, [they] eased our way of accepting a new area, a new culture, and so forth. These are the kind of memories we will have. It is a tremendous loss to not only the family, but to those who were accepted by them as a family,\u201d Dabrowski said.<\/p>\n

Gerry and Verna Karst worked with the Paulsens when the couples were in Silver Spring, Maryland. Gerry served as Paulsen\u2019s assistant and Verna as the headquarters nurse. Both remember Kari Paulsen\u2019s adventurousness.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was not above having a little bit of fun,\u201d Gerry Karst recalled, while Verna Karst noted Kari\u2019s deep interest in others.<\/p>\n

\u201cKari was a caring person and was very interested in people. But because of her health issues, she was restricted in what she could do,\u201d Verna Karst said.<\/p>\n

Kari Trykkerud was born in a small town near Notodden, about 113 kilometers (70 miles) south-west of Oslo. She grew up during World War II, when Norway was under German occupation. Shortly after the war, Kari underwent surgery\u2014the first performed in Norway\u2014for a heart condition. During her recovery, she promised God she would become a Christian if He helped her get well.<\/p>\n

That vow led to a search that ended when an Adventist relative\u2019s pastor offered young Kari a copy of Steps to Christ<\/em> by Ellen G. White. Following a Voice of Prophecy correspondence course and Bible studies, Kari decided to become a Seventh-day Adventist, even though this caused trouble at home when she refused a traditional Christmas dinner of pork. Infuriated, her father asked Kari to leave home, and the young woman went to live with an aunt.<\/p>\n

\"young<\/a>Following secondary school in Norway, Kari went to the church-owned Vejlefjordskolen (Danish Junior College) in Daug\u00e5rd, Denmark, to study theology. Arriving two weeks into the semester, she admitted to being confused during a lecture on biblical dates, not least because of language differences. It so happened that another Norwegian student named Jan Paulsen was sitting next to her and offered to help. \u201cDon\u2019t worry,\u201d he said, \u201cI\u2019ll explain it to you later.\u201d<\/p>\n

That remark began a continuing conversation that lasted more than six decades. Friends at first, love grew between them, and the couple married before Jan went to Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan, to continue his education. Kari soon followed, and the couple learned a new culture along with adjusting to married life. They had three children, all of whom survive her: Laila, Jan Rune, and Rein Andre.<\/p>\n

\"Paulsen<\/a>The couple went to Africa, first to Ghana and then Nigeria, where Jan Paulsen served as president of Adventist College of West Africa, now Babcock University. Mrs Paulsen\u2019s health problems worsened while in Africa and were to remain with her throughout her life. Returning to Europe, Jan served as principal of Newbold College in Binfield, England; secretary and then president of the Trans-European Division, as a general vice president of the world church, and finally as General Conference president, a role he assumed in January 1999 and held for 11 years.<\/p>\n

Tributes that flooded into the TED office and social media pages have highlighted her kindness and the open home she had for students at Newbold, and her genuine, gracious, Christian spirit.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have experienced quite a lot of illness, and this close proximity to death does something to you and your relationship with the Lord,\u201d Kari told Ministry magazine in 2006. \u201cSomehow you rely more on Him. It\u2019s important to stay close to Him, to pray, to read. It\u2019s kind of a constant reminder that this life might not last that long.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Against<\/a>In 2015, Pacific Press released Against All Odds<\/em>, Kari Paulsen\u2019s memoir of life as a Christian and her struggle with chronic illness and family tragedy. The book won wide praise from readers.<\/p>\n

\u201cKari Paulsen defined \u2018resilience\u2019 for me, and for thousands of believers for whom her challenging life story has been a great encouragement,\u201d said Bill Knott, Adventist Review editor and executive editor. \u201cHer honesty and wit have helped so many of us understand how grace has intersected our own moments of physical pain and disappointment. She reminded us by her words and her example that the Lord always has the last word\u2014and that His word is deep affection for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tor Tjeransen, communication director for the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Norway, who has known the Paulsens for more than 50 years, noted her lifelong optimism: \u201cKari has always kept a very positive attitude toward everything, everything she met in life. The strain on those who are in traveling positions is just enormous. She has always been there, and always very supportive of Jan,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Friends and family will gather in Mj\u00f8ndalen, Norway, on Monday, 20 January for her funeral service. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that donations be made to the Life Hope orphanage and school in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; donations may be sent via PayPal to reinpaulsen@gmail.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In a message, Jan Paulsen remarked, \u201cKari gave often to keep the school alive and would love for it to continue after her departure.\u201d<\/p>\n

This article was first published in Adventist Review<\/a> and was adapted, with kind permission, for the TED where Kari and her husband gave so many years of service.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

ted<\/em>NEWS Staff: Victor Hulbert, editor; Deana Stojkovi\u0107, associate editor
119 St Peter’s Street, St Albans, Herts, AL1 3EY, England
E-mail: tednews@ted.adventist.org<\/a>
Website: www.ted.adventist.org
ted<\/em>NEWS is an information bulletin issued by the communication department of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Trans-European Division. Readers are free to republish or share this article with appropriate credit including an active hyperlink to the original article.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

16 January 2020 | Drammen, Norway [Mark A. Kellner \/ Adventist Review \/ ted<\/em>NEWS] <\/p>\n

\u201cShe struck me as sincere and kind and as a big support for her husband standing tall by his side,\u201d reflects Trans-European Division President Raafat Kamal. \u201cWe as a TED office family are saddened by the loss of Kari Paulsen and we share in the grief at this sad time. We offer our prayers and condolences.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4358,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,1590,1577],"tags":[388,386,390,211,387,389],"class_list":["post-4370","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-norway","category-organisational-updates","tag-jan-paulsen","tag-kari","tag-kari-paulsen-dies","tag-norway","tag-paulsen","tag-world-church-president"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4370","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4370"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4370\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4358"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4370"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4370"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4370"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}