Karen passed peacefully at home on the morning of October 11, 2023, with her loving husband at her side.
She was born February 15, 1955, in Tooele Utah, to Richard and Louise (Weezy) Tate, and grew up in Tooele with her brother Doug, and younger sister Brenda (Beans). She graduated from Tooele high school (Class of 1973) and was a proud Tooele Buffalo for life!
Karen married her first husband Lester Moran at a young age, and they had two sons together, Justin Moran, and Jeremy Moran. She was very proud of her boys, and even more proud of the men that they grew up to be.
She was later married to Jean Fletcher for about 5 years in the early 1980’s.
In 1992, she met the love of her life, John Wanlass at the Scoreboard Lounge in Salt Lake City. They would spend the rest of her life together. They were married in February 2006, and over the 31 years that they were together, they saw each other through both troubles and triumphs. He made her world whole, and she his.
Karen absolutely adored her grandchildren, Rose Moran, Ruth Moran, Samuel Moran, and ArieAnn Fairbairn. Karen took great joy as she watched them grow. She was very proud of each of them and spent many hours searching for and posting pictures of them around the house. They brought light to her days and joy to her heart.
Karen was fascinated by lighthouses and was overjoyed when she had the opportunity to visit them. She and John had visited nearly every lighthouse on the west coast of the United States, and several in Hawaii. She cried the first time that she got to actually see one in person, as they were a passion for her all of her life. She also loved anything that was the color purple and was drawn to it for her whole life.
She is survived by her sons, Justin (Stephanie) Moran and Jeremy Moran, her stepsons, Josh Thorn-Shaw, Jordan Wanlass, Ryan Wanlass, and Anthony Alonso. Her granddaughters Rose Moran (Justin), Ruth Moran (Justin), Samuel Moran (Jeremy), and AriAnn Fairbairn (Jeremy). Her brother Doug (Staci) Tate, and her sister Brenda (David) Smart.
Karen was preceded in death by her father Richard Tate and her mother, Louise Tate.
Her ashes will be interred at a private family ceremony at Tooele City Cemetery at 2 o’clock on Thursday October 26, 2023. This will be followed by a celebration of her life at the Hyatt Place Hotel Downtown Salt Lake City at the Gateway (55 N 400 W SLC, UT 84101) at 4:00 pm.
The family would like to invite all to please wear something purple in Karens honor that day.
Rest in peace Ma,
Karen will always be yours. She’s just harder to talk to. Karen and Maddy will be waiting for us.
Love Diane
I’m so sorry for your loss. Condolences.
So sorry to hear about your loss Brenda! RIP Karen!❤️❤️
You always treated me as your own son and appreciated everything you did for me, always so kind to me ,and always gave me great advice You will be missed
I'm going to miss Karen calling into to check her balance or transfer money. I'm going to miss our 35-40min conversations. Rip Karen! You are missed deeply. Although I never met you in person but I'll still miss ya.
Jeremy and Justin,
So sorry to hear of your mom’s passing. She was a great person who loved you guys and your friends unconditionally. Rest in peace Karen.
So sorry for your loss Jeremy and Justin. Sending love to your whole family.
Keep Smiling Ma…I Love You
So sorry to hear of Karen’s passing. She was always so kind, loving and generous to me. I will always remember her. As kids we would visit the “Richard Tate’s” in Tooele regularly and we always had the best time there. She and her brother and sister made us feel at home. I loved that even though they were older than us they would make us a part of what was going on. That was a long time ago. Reading her memorial I am so glad that she found the happiness and joy of children and grandchildren.
When ever I think of her I see her smile and her hand extended to me reaching to give me a big hug. My prayers are with you all at this difficult time of loss. We all love her so. See you again Karen, can’t wait for another hug.
Karen was always so sweet and nice to me. I remember her as a gentle, loving person. My heart goes out to all the family. My prayers will be with you as you go through this hard time.
