Sister of mine, so many memories of you. John Denver, The Carpenters,  Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Gone with the Wind. Cookouts at the beach, sitting in your kitchen telling stories and laughing. Your good humor and generosity of spirit are sorely missed. 

I wish you'd been here for JS's wedding and Wyatt's birth. Keep everyone up there in line ♥️

Sister of mine, you are missed every single day. I still tear up every time I hear John Denver or the Carpenters. It doesn't get easier but it becomes bearable. 

Boys, you've become such wonderful young men. Your mother would be so proud! I know it's still hard and I'm sorry. I love you all very much ♥️♥️

Sister of mine, you are missed every single day. I still tear up whenever I hear John Denver or the Carpenters.

To her magnificent young men. It's so wonderful to see the men you've become. Your mother would be so proud! I know it's still hard. I love you all very much ♥️♥️

You would be hard pressed to find a more loving, giving, kind hearted woman than my sister Karen.  She was fiercely loyal, compassionate and very, very funny.

 Family was so important to her. She referred to her sons as "my boys", and loved them tremendously.  She was so proud of each one. 

She would do anything for anyone at anytime. These qualities made her a wonderful mother, friend, and sister. 

But Karen was not perfect. She insisted on putting ketchup on her scrambled eggs. 

She will be sorely missed. 

On Thu, Sep 2, 2021 at 2:15 PM sean kelly <guinnessluvr1@gmail.com> wrote:

Karen was about the best sister a kid could have growing up in the 50's and 60's. She put up with me shooting rubber bullets at her from my Mattel Buffalo Scout Rifle (she didn't like it, but she put up with it) AND she thanked me for coming to her defense when Sister Ann Regina, the hobbit-sized Mercy Nun who terrified all of us at St. Michael the Archangel School, berated her in the bus parking lot.

She was a sentimental, kind-hearted soul (I used to make fun of her choice of novels and comics...all romantic tripe, I thought...while I dwelt on Superman and Batman. Who knew she was just way ahead of the HALLMARK CHANNEL?), who was always willing to reach out to the less-fortunate (which is why she was a great nurse). Her compassion for others was real; I'll always remember that.

One fond memory is sitting in the car with Mom and Dad, while she sat outside in a lawn chair, screaming, at the top of her lungs, at the Beatles in A HARD DAY'S NIGHT (obviously, a drive-in, although Karen probably would have brought a chair into the indoor theater, too, if the seats were all gone). I thought she was nuts. Ironically, I became the biggest Beatles fan of all time, while Karen wandered off into more sedate musical territory. As a member of Tina’s bridal party, I clearly remember her palpable joy; Karen loved a good party.

Her devotion to Mom and Dad was all-encompassing; she was very much like my father (right down to her love of cigarettes and the occasional colorful phrase, which I REALLY inherited). She and Tom moved to SC just to be near them.

From Beach Haven, where I helped her sneak out the bedroom window to be with her friends (VERY innocently, I swear) to Ellen’s house in Long Island, NY, where we all gathered for an incredibly funny Thanksgiving, I remember Karen laughing...and I remember, fondly, that I could easily make her chuckle (a laugh that started deep within her chest). 

My thoughts and prayers to her wonderful sons, who she adored and I know who adored her back, and her daughters-in-law and grandkids, who I know felt the same way. I'm sad that circumstances kept us all apart during the last decade (Tina's courageous battle against cancer, the pandemic, etc.), and that it was difficult to communicate over the phone over the last year. And I'm incredibly sorry we can't be there at the service...COVID-exposure and health issues preclude it...but Tina and I will be at Mass locally. Know that we're there in spirit...as are our children, who loved their Aunt Karen.

Be at peace, Karen...as the Irish would say (and you knew I'd reference the Celts): "Death leaves a heartache no one can heal...Love leaves a memory no one can steal."

I love you, kid....