Reflections on Owatonna Grad Kristin Tillotson

I did not know Kristin Tillotson, but I read her work a lot in the Star Tribune. She wrote about lifestyle stories and then went on to arts and entertainment stories. In the '90s she had a Pop Stand column in which she scrutinized popular culture with sass and depth. According to the paper, she plumbed the world of literature in her profiles for the Talking Volumes book club, and toured Europe with the Minnesota Orchestra and Osmo Vänskä.

Kristin passed away after a short illness on May 11.

She grew up in Owatonna, reading things like encyclopedias from the age of 5, her sister Kathy Austin said in the paper; her favorite book was To Kill a Mockingbird. She went to Owatonna High School, then to Iowa State University and studied speech communication.

She loved to travel and was an animal lover, adopting four rescue dogs over the years (most recently, Skip) and spent time at the Iowa Primate Learning Sanctuary in Des Moines, Iowa.

Her father, John Tillotson, preceded her in death. Survivors include her mother, Kay, Owatonna; sisters Kathy Tillotson Austin, Owatonna, and Karin Tillotson, Atlanta, Ga.; niece Katie Austin; nephew Jack Austin; and longtime partner, Jack Nicora, Brooklyn, N.Y.

Services are planned for 2PM May 21 at Plymouth Congregational Church, 1900 Nicollet Ave. S., Minneapolis.