Tecla Rose Karpen, age 90, of Hastings, died peacefully at home on Monday May 22, 2017. Tecla was born on October 29, 1926 and was the only child of Matt and Kate (Schlirf) Karpen. Both sets of her grandparents emigrated from Germany to Hastings in the mid 1800’s. Tecla received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from St. Cloud State and she completed course work for a PhD at the University of Minnesota. For seven years she taught speech and theater in Waseca, MN, Beaver Dam and Green Bay, WI and Stillwater, MN. She taught at Ely Junior College and finished her career as an associate professor at Mankato State University. Upon her father’s death in 1972 and her mother’s death in 1974, she returned to Hastings and lived at the Karpen home. Forever inspired by nature, Tecla pursued her passion for nature by learning to paint. Her paintings reflected a variety of styles, many of which depicted local Hastings scenes. The lakes she cherished: Spring, Connley, Isabel and Rebecca, along with the Mississippi, St. Croix, Cannon and Vermillion Rivers. In 2003 Tecla organized a local conservation group called HEP, Hastings Environmental Protectors. Tecla inherited 5 1/2 acres of woods overlooking Lake Rebecca and part of the Mississippi corridor basin, which is permanently preserved in a Dakota County Conservation Easement. She has a dream - that someday the entire length of the Mississippi shorelines and bluffs would be restored and protected as a natural preserve – like the St. Croix – like the Grand Canyon. A memorial service will be held on Thursday (6/1) at 7:00 PM at Wise Family Funeral Home, 400 Spring St., Hastings. A gathering will be held hour prior to the service at the funeral home. A private interment at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Cemetery will be held at a later date. Memorials preferred in lieu of flowers. Wise Family Funeral & Cremation Services is serving the family.