Kari Marie Cynar, 76, was born in Jersey City, New Jersey. She was the daughter of Peder and Ruth (Larsen) Pedersen. At age 3 Kari’s family moved to Trinidad, then at age 6 to Mobile, Alabama and eventually to Ridgewood, New Jersey. Kari attended Wagner College where she met her future husband, Bruce Cynar. They have been very happily wed for almost 54 years and have a son, Garret, who is a Physician and a daughter, Ingrid, who is in Law Enforcement. They are blessed with a grandson, Joseph, who is attending Purdue, Fort Wayne.

Her artistic muse has been a strong force in her life, even from a young age. In High School she was selected to sing in the prestigious New Jersey All State Chorus for both her Junior and Senior year. At Wagner she toured the country with Wagner College’s world famous choir, performing at venues such as Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. In 1967, to help pay for college, she entered and won the first Miss Staten Island Scholarship Pageant, a preliminary for the Miss America Pageant. She went on to win the Miss New York State Title and compete in Atlantic City. She was deservedly proud of winning the Grand Talent Award for Classical Singing in all 3 competitions. She was a member of the Heartland Chamber Choral for 16 years; also the Fort Wayne Philharmonic Chorus, and Northern Notes Singers. She was also a highly accomplished artist in the Norwegian folk art of Rosemaling. She has painted and taught this intricate and lovely style of painting for many years. In her later years she developed a strong interest in beading and jewelry making.

She has been a member of Resurrection Lutheran Church since 1984, and served on the Board as Chair of the Worship and Music Committee in the 1980s. She was a member of the BZ Chapter of PEO and a Lifetime Member of Vesterheim, the Norwegian American Museum in Decorah, Iowa. Kari was very proud of her Norwegian heritage. Kari was very smart, she had a wonderful sense of humor and was a caring, loving and giving wife, mother, sister and friend to all who knew her. She enthusiastically shared her love of small animals, particularly birds, with everyone. She is survived by her brother Peder, sister Elaine, son Garret, daughter Ingrid, grandson Joe and husband Bruce, and will be missed by all who knew her.

In lieu of flowers, please do something nice for a small animal, Kari would like that.

“Death is not extinguishing the light, it is putting out the lamp

because the dawn has come.”

R. Tagore

Funeral service will be on Monday, April 10th, 2023 at 5:45 pm at Fairhaven Funeral Home and Cremation Services (6557 N. Clinton Street, Fort Wayne, IN 46825) with visitation beginning at 3:00 pm until the time of service.