Karin was my first friend. We meet when we were starting kindergarten.
I had my first childhood sleepover at Karin’s house and I remember her purple bedroom.
Karin and I played together after school and it was Karin who taught me how to ride a 2 wheeled bike. No training wheels were required. Karin held on the the back of her orange banana boat bike seat, and held me steady, running behind me, encouraging me the entire distance. Once I had both my balance and confidence only then, did Karin release her hold on the bike seat. 
 There was one drawback.. we didn’t discuss how to stop the bike. I shouted to Karin, asking her what to do, she shouted back, pedal backwards. Yes, I stopped.
When I think back to this moment in time, I am filled gratitude for this memory.
Karin and I played together after school numerous times, and I don’t ever remember the two of us watching  TV together. 
We played outside, our most mischievous deed was entering the oversized culvert under the double dips on Beaver Creek Road. We would listen as the cars drove overtop and through the double dips. 
Sometimes we would have after school snacks at her grandma’s house, I always thought Karin was so lucky to live within walking distance to her Grandma’s.
I will be forever grateful for Karin's kindness that she always showed me. 
Forever in my heart Karin❤️.

Rose Keeler (Van Kooten).

Karin started at Youth Forensics the same time I did but she still taught me the ropes.  She was very smart and quick to learn and was a great protector for us.  She was reliable and sensible always.  She did not suffer fools gladly which always made me smile.

Karin often pointed out that we were both Scorpios!  As such, she trained me with stickers on my door when I finally did a particular form properly - when we moved offices, I took all 15 stickers with us so she can still be there!  I wish she had lived to see us escape as she so dearly wanted.

Karin was such a consistent, fundamental resource that I may never get used to her not being with us.  I often think,  "If only I could ask Karin - she would know".

I cannot imagine what it is like for her sons to lose her so early.  She adored you both and while she was mostly secretive about her personal life, we all knew about her sons!  She also adored her family and was so looking forward to being near her mom.

I will treasure her.



Karin’s Celebration of Life will be held Apr 15 1:00 pm at 4904 Montrose ST. Port Alberni. IWA / Steelworkers Hall.

I find myself still thinking of Karin often. While I only had the chance to work alongside her for a few months, I will never forget the impact that she made on my life. Karin taught me so much in our short time together, but what I will remember the most is her words of encouragement whenever I felt self-doubt...she could sense it in me, and would always reassure me that I had everything I needed already inside of myself. Karin wasn't afraid of what other people thought or said, because she knew her immense value and worth within her own heart. I will continue to aspire to be like Karin in regard to this confidence and compassion she emulated. I could tell from the way she was a natural teacher with a tender heart that Karin's greatest pride and accomplishment in this life was being a great mother to her sons, whom she spoke about often with utter adoration. I continue to grieve the loss of my mentor and friend, and am still holding all of Karin's family members in my heart.."Grief is the price we pay for love"...and how very loved she is!

I was Karin’s Mom. I would like to thank everyone for the lovely tributes to Karin. She is very much missed.
We will have a Celebration of Life on April 15, 2023 in Port Alberni in a hall. Not sure yet which one it will be.  Jo Hilmo

I will miss seeing and chatting with Karin at work. She was such a beautiful soul. Rest in peace my friend.

Karin and I went to school together. She always had a smile on her face and was always happy.  Last time I was able to see Karin was at our grad reunion and it was so nice to catch up with her.  My sincere condolences to her family.

I knew Karin through work, and although she worked in a different area then me, she was well known and cared about by many throughout our building. She was so kind and quick to be a listening ear and carried herself with grace.  I am so sorry to her family and friends. We are thinking of you. Karin will be missed.

Although we only met Karin a few times, it was enough to become fully aware of her free spirited, open hearted love of life and her family. Our deepest condolences go to Jo, Ethan, Zach, Lisa and the rest of her grieving family and friends.

My heart goes out Karin’s family. She was a great neighbour and over the years I had the privilege to hear and share in little snippets of her life journeys.  There was never a doubt just how much she loved her family and was loved in return. When she spoke of her two sons, she beamed with pride. When she spoke of her sister, she spoke like she was her bestie. When she spoke about her mom, words such as devotion, integrity, and honour come to mind. Just as doors were starting to open for Karin they closed, and when they did, she left an indelible print on each of our hearts. I will always remember our last chat…the flowers she gifted me, and how happy she was. She was so happy, and so thankful…she just glowed.

For the family, please accept my deep condolences. I am so sorry for your loss of this beautiful person. Like some others who have posted, I, too, worked with Karin for many years and always found her to be compassionate, intelligent, insightful, organized, warm, calm and professional. She kept our team together — she was the centre — even during hard or stressful times. She was also not afraid to be honest, which usually led to good problem solving for the team. She typically walked by my office at the end of the day on Fridays and would always have a lovely message about enjoying the weekend. She also loved to laugh. I miss her a lot! And I will not forget her.

Everyone should be so lucky as to have a person like Karin in their lives.  Working with her for many years, she was that kind of consistent and calm presence that kept the seams from coming apart.  She knew where everything was and how to get things done.  And when she didn’t, she would give a warm smirk or a shrug, crack or accept a light joke, and just help you to figure it out.  She was reserved about herself, which meant we didn’t tell her often enough how much she was appreciated.  Grateful to have known such an authentic person and I will think of her often.  Warmest wishes to Karin’s family and friends.

I had the privilege of working with Karin for more than a decade.  During that time, our team had the benefit of Karin’s wisdom, tenacity and strength. She was a role-model of dedication and determination. While we are continuing grieving this incredible loss, we take comfort from our many wonderful memories of Karin.

Karin way such an amazing mentor. I had the pleasure of working with her for the past 4 years. I learned so much from her and felt so comfortable talking with her about anything. She always told me there was no such thing as a stupid question, and I thought that was crazy because I always had a stupid question to ask. But she would laugh, answer my question, and sometimes say she had the same problem. It always made me feel comfortable and confident in my job and that no matter the problem I was facing, be it technical or something new I was learning I knew I would succeed, with her by my side. I will miss her dearly and all the little chats we had over the years, I will miss her joking and warm personality. I am grateful I got to call Karin my supervisor as well as my friend.

Karin was a remarkable woman. We worked together for sixteen years. In the last many, she ran our front office, making sure we had everything we needed to provide good services to the public. She was a great protector - ensuring we had enough computers when they tried to cut them back, moving people away from our front door to that the youth and families we work with had a safe and clean passage into the clinic. Karin was unflappable - never backing down from a challenge, seeing the humour in situations and always willing to help me when I was stuck in the middle of a project or with a short deadline. Tough on the outside, warm and caring when you knew her better. Her family meant everything to her - she was a proud mother, dedicated daughter and loving sister. Her passing reminds me to say the positive things we are thinking about people while we have the chance to do so. May her memory be for a blessing...

Karin is greatly missed. I will remember her for her honest, direct and dependable approach to everything.  My heart goes out to her family, as I know she loved and cared for them very much.

OBITUARY

Karin Lee BYE

20 November, 1963 – 6 October, 2022

Yates Memorial Services

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