Karen Lee Soots Pare, age 75, of Alameda, California was born on February 21, 1949, in Oakland, California, and died surrounded by loving family in Oakland on March 13, 2024.

Karen attended Encinal High School in Alameda, CA (1966), Saint Mary’s College in Moraga, CA (Paralegal Certificate 1981), Mills College in Oakland, CA (B.A. 1991), and Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ (M.A. 1994, ABD). After her divorce in 1975, she raised her two daughters independently by working as a legal secretary and paralegal and attended as much school as possible while working full-time. Karen earned an A.A. at Mendocino College in Ukiah in the late eighties and completed her B.A. with honors in history at Mills College, graduating at the same time as her eldest daughter, Jennifer Pare (Milo Dodds), in 1991. She earned the Anne Hummel Sherrill Prize in History in 1990. Karen and Jennifer were the first in the family to earn four-year college degrees. Karen went on to study American women’s history at Rutgers University in New Jersey, where she was awarded the Marion Johnson Fellowship (1991-1995). She completed her coursework there and passed her oral exams before moving to Orem, Utah in 1994 to research her dissertation topic and live near her younger daughter, Christine “Lisie” Harlow (Chuck), and her family.

Karen was raised in Alameda and returned there in 1997 to live near her extended family, including her mother, Suzanne Haldi Soots Trujillo (1932-1999, Victor), and her grandmother, Vera Soots (1911-2005, Walter). She began teaching in the History Department at California State University, East Bay in 2001 and continued there until her retirement in 2022. She taught survey courses in American history and American women’s history and specialty courses including nursing history and Latter-Day Saint history. She loved teaching, and she loved spending time with her family in the area, including her grandchildren, Abigail Harlow, Caroline Harlow, and Ethan Dodds; her siblings, Steven Soots, Gary Soots (Charlene), Donna Spinola, and Mark Soots (Kathleen); her cousins Victoria Wright (Junior), Kathleen Gallegos (Nico), and Johnny Salinas (Jana); and her nieces and nephews, Amber Moon Reynolds (Matthew), Clifford Spinola (Emerson), Bryan Soots, Scotty Soots, and Michael Spinola. In addition to her mother and grandmother, she was preceded in death by her father, Walter Soots, Jr. (1931-1998), grandfather, Walter Soots (1901-1988), and maternal grandparents, Edna Herzberg Haldi (1898-1964) and Robert Haldi (1897-1962). Karen also had a special relationship with her Soots and Haldi aunts, uncles, and cousins.

In addition to history and teaching, Karen loved music, politics, and championing women’s rights, standing, and advancement in all spheres. She attended numerous concerts in her youth, including the last Beatles concert at Candlestick Park in 1966. She was raised in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, a faith she loved with all her heart. She served in the Oakland Temple for over 20 years and gave love and service to countless individuals in the wards in which she lived, including Ukiah, CA, East Brunswick, NJ, Orem, UT, and Alameda, CA. One of Karen’s favorite scriptures is in the Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 4:19-21: “...I know in whom I have trusted. My God hath been my support; he hath led me through mine afflictions…and he hath preserved me; He hath filled me with his love….”

A memorial service for Karen will be held at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, 1201 Grand Street, Alameda, CA, on Saturday, March 23, 2024, at 1:00 p.m.

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