A Loving Tribute To Destiny Karpinen On Her Birthday

On November 6, 2001, Destiny Marie was born to Josh and Jen Karpinen in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. As their first born, Destiny was such a welcome addition to her parents and her grandparents (Barb and Roger Siem, Barb and Allen Bucholz, and Sharon and Wayne Karpinen)

As Destiny, grew it became very apparent that she was a very out-going and loving little girl. She loved to play Barbie dolls, games of all kinds, waitress (as if she worked in a restaurant), and teacher. Whenever she could, she would have class and most often, Grandpa Siem would get into trouble and be held back from recess. She loved her time in “real” school and she loved to read. From a very early age, her Great Aunt Patti (Grandma Siem’s sister) took Destiny (and her little sisters, Ashlyn and Payson) to the Sioux Falls Public Library for story time and many other library activities.

Destiny loved people and tried very hard to comfort those who were hurting. She wrote a letter of comfort to her 6th grade teacher’s grandma, who had lost her husband. None of our family was aware of that letter until her 6th grade teacher came forward, at the time of Destiny’s death, and shared it.

She was musically gifted. She loved to sing and performed solos, both at her school and her church. She, also, played clarinet at Tea Area High School. Last year, Destiny volunteered to sing at her paternal great aunt’s funeral in Minneapolis. Thankfully, she was videotaped and because of technology she was able to sing at her own funeral, as well. She was, also, active in Drama and had performed in a couple of plays. In addition to these activities, she was a solid student and earned the honor roll status frequently.

Out-of-school activities included attending as many Sioux Falls Stampede Hockey games and functions as possible. In the last couple of weeks, Destiny’s family was asked to do “drop the puck” to start the game, in memory of Destiny.

Destiny, also, was an active member of the Girl Scouts. A couple of years ago, she was a top seller of Girl Scout Cookies. Every weekend, her shoes hit the pavement so she could fulfill her goal of selling 500 boxes of cookies. When she had reached her goal, she said that the following year, her plan was to increase her goal. Her parents nearly fainted. She was a go-getter, a goal-setter and an achiever.

Her smile lit up any room she entered. She could find the positive part of most any situation. She was strong Christian and was very active in her church.

Her future career goal was to become a fire-fighting pilot. She loved to fly and would often fly with her Grandpa Bucholz, who was a licensed pilot. Destiny had just attended an aviation camp this summer, in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. That camp confirmed her love of flying and her career goal. Often her Grandpa Bucholz, would fly her to various locations, and throughout the state, to give plane rides to Young Eagles (young children interested in aviation). Destiny would fly with him to help with the required paper work. Any opportunity to fly. Destiny would take it!

On September 2, 2016, Destiny and her Grandpa Bucholz were involved in a fatal crash near Viborg, South Dakota. The FAA and the NTSB are conducting the investigation as to the cause of the crash. The investigation will take 9-12 months.

Today, we celebrate Destiny’s 15th birthday…without her. We know she is singing in heaven’s choir and that both she and her Grandpa Bucholz have earned their eternal wings. We miss them both so much!

As was the loss of Destiny’s baby brother, Mason, this has been a most difficult part of our life’s journey. Learning life without Destiny and her Grandpa Bucholz has been very difficult for our family. We appreciate the support of our Milbank friends. The whole process would be impossible without the support of our family and friends. Thank you so much!