Karin Louise Youngberg died on August 20, 2026 at home at the age of 90.

Karin was born on February 14, 1936, at Lutheran Hospital, Moline, IL, to Mabel Arnell Youngberg and Paul Youngberg. She was a lifelong resident of Rock Island, where she was educated by the Rock Island public school system, graduating from Rock Island High School in 1954. She attended Augustana College just a block from her house, a college where her family had deep roots: her Swedish Lutheran paternal grandfather had graduated from Augustana’s seminary in the late 1800s, and her mother graduated from Augustana’s liberal arts college in 1924. Karin graduated from Augustana in 1958, magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, with a major in English and minors in French and history.

She continued her education at The University of Iowa, where she received a Master of Arts in 1960, with a thesis on Shakespeare’s sonnets, and a Doctor of Philosophy in 1967, with a dissertation on Anglo-Saxon heroic poetry and Old Norse Eddic poetry. After teaching for one year at Luther College (Decorah, IA), she was called back to her alma mater, Augustana College, where she began a long and distinguished career, teaching there for 52 years, from 1967 until her retirement in 2019. She brought creativity and intellectual rigor to a wide range of courses, including The Beginnings of Scandinavian Literature, Medieval English Literature, Renaissance English Literature, Modern British Writers, Book Publishing and Editing, and a variety of innovative writing courses. She was, however, most attached to and beloved for her many terms of teaching Shakespearean literature.

Karin’s talents as a professor were many, but she was uniquely gifted at helping her students to see original and surprising intellectual connections, often across disciplines, and guiding them toward greater clarity and rigor in their writing. Her outstanding teaching was recognized in 1987 with the Harold T. and Violet M. Jaecke Award for Teaching Excellence. She was also awarded the Sears Roebuck Foundation Award for Teaching Excellence and Campus Leadership in 1988, and in 2000, she was honored as the recipient of the Conrad Bergendoff Chair in the Humanities, a position she held until her retirement.

Some of her success as a professor may be attributed to her constant commitment to professional development. She was a participant in two NEH Summer Institutes, one on interdisciplinary approaches to teaching medieval literature at Mount Holyoke College and one on approaches to teaching Shakespeare through performance criticism at Northwestern University. She also sought to be at the cutting edge of teaching editing and publishing through the many certificates she earned from the University of Chicago’s publishing program.

In addition to her dedication as a teacher and advisor, Karin’s contributions to Augustana’s English department and to the broader college were significant. She was elected to the faculty senate for several terms and frequently served on major college governance committees, task forces, and search committees in key roles. She chaired the English department for over a decade (1984-1996) and earlier chaired the Humanities Division (1974-1980). She was instrumental in the creation of the College’s Foundations program, originally an interdisciplinary honors program she loved teaching within. She was also a founding faculty editor of the East Hall Press, which engaged and mentored students in all aspects of the publishing process, resulting in the publication of over seventeen books of fiction, poetry, and local fiction; this collaborative work with students put her department in the vanguard of English programs committed to preparing English majors for careers outside of academia.

Above all, she brought to her work at Augustana an undying love for the College and an unwavering belief in the value of Augustana’s liberal arts education and the Swedish-Lutheran intellectual tradition it exemplified.

Karin was also a published author. Among her publications, most memorable to her were the novels she co-wrote under the pseudonym Ann Young: The Mystery of the Singing Mermaid (Weekly Reader Press 1987) and The Nine Days Wonder (East Hall Press 2002).

Even with these professional accomplishments, Karin was known to her family simply as an amazing aunt. To her nieces and nephew, she passed on her passion for mystery novels, fantasy fiction, and Cubs games. She shared with them her love of flora and fauna, from the chickadees at her feeder or the daddy long-legs on her porch to the lush herb garden she cultivated, full of lavender, mint, and verbena. “Smell that” or “Look at that,” she’d say in directing attention to some small natural wonder. She brought her nieces on quests for the best sweet corn, introduced them to Renaissance recorder music and medieval banquets, taught them to knit, made their Halloween costumes annually, and treated them to taffy pulls and “Divinity” making. Nothing seemed to fall outside of her interest or expertise.

Karin was also a lifelong, dedicated pet owner. She adored her Cairn terriers, typically named after characters from Norse myths, and she was equally fond of the elegant cats who graced her life over the years.

Karin made an enormous impact on Augustana College, her family, her many students, and the animal companions under her care. She will be deeply missed.

Her immediate family members include her brother-in-law Richard Arnell (husband of her late sister, Paula Y. Arnell); nieces Carla Arnell (Paul Lucas) of Highland Park, IL and Paula Marie Arnell (Vincent Liu) of Davenport, IA, and her nephew Paul Arnell; her grand-nephew John Arnell (Madison, WI) and grand-nieces Elisabeth (21), Susanne (17), Linnea (17), and Lydia (14); her beloved Cairn terrier, Gretla, and her silver tabby cat, affectionately referred to as just “Kitty.”

The family wishes to thank those who provided excellent care during the final years of her cancer treatment and hospice care.

A private graveside service will be held at Rock Island Memorial Park Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Augustana College or the Niabi Zoo, where she was a volunteer.