On April 7th, our loving mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, and friend Karen Rose passed away peacefully after living with Parkinson’s Disease for decades.
Karen was born in Salt Lake City, Utah on June 10th, 1950, to Arthur William Carlson and Beverly Jean Esmeyer Carlson. She spent her life in service to God as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, to her family, and to her friends. Karen loved to dance, sing, perform, and create. She was known for her abundant talent and ingenuity, writing songs, poems, and stories. The walls of her home were adorned with her beautiful paintings, drawings, and cross-stitches, and her filing cabinet was bursting at the seams with all of her projects. Karen loved to exercise, walk, hike, and especially enjoyed playing racquetball with her dad. She was a passionate schoolteacher for as long as her body would allow, pouring herself into her role as an educator, and receiving her master’s degree in education from the University of Utah.
On December 12th, 1973, she married Stephen Alma Drechsel and together they brought six children into the world. 30 years later she expanded the family when she married her second husband Richard (Duff) Brown on August 19th, 1999—who preceded her in death on July 19th, 2017. Through that marriage she gained ten additional children.
Karen lives on through her three daughters and three sons: James (Parie), Michael (AnnaMae), Christianne (Tim), Katie (Ben), Andrew (Molly), and Amy (Cody), as well as 10 stepchildren: Kyle (Laurie), Jason (Mindy Anne), Brett, Kevin (Sharon), Jeff (Lori), Mindy (Tyrol), Cody (Danielle), Zac (Emily), Megan (Chris), and Becca (Eric), in addition to too many grandchildren to count. She will also be missed by her siblings Jay, Sherri, Beverly, David, and Denny—she was preceded in death by her youngest brother Jimmy in 1986.
A Viewing will be held in her honor on Wednesday, April 13th, from 6:00-8:00 p.m. at Larkin Gardens (1950 E. Dimple Dell Road (10600 S.) Sandy, UT 84092). The Funeral Services will be held the following day, Thursday, April 14th, 12:00 p.m. at 10975 S. Prescott Dr. Sandy, UT 84092, with interment at the Larkin Gardens Cemetery. There will also be a viewing prior to the Funeral Services from 10:30-11:30 a.m.
In lieu of flowers, consider donating to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for furthering Parkinson’s research in Karen’s name.
https://www.michaeljfox.org/donate
To view the COMPLETED program via Zoom please click the "Watch Services" button or follow the link : https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/RuecOfq0gj27g1bqPdOqH_TeD8vNWpHdW31zgKwTKH9xaJvPUvS166Y6jHY42Lor.M0tzNmJnApTS_2Hj?startTime=1649959466000
So now one of
'The Angels " is indeed an angel! Good for you Dearest Friend. I'm greatly saddened for myself with your passing, but overjoyed for you!
My heart goes out to all of Karen's dear one's who will miss her so much. Gratefully, there is balm for the wounded heart and peace for the soul in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Knowing Karen as well as I did over so many years, I know that she knew this as well.
Kathleen Done