Karen passed away peacefully at home the afternoon of Wednesday, August 29. Richard Tonelli, her loving husband of 23 years, was by her side. She was 79. Immediate family surrounded Karen the entire two weeks prior and shared her grace-filled process of letting go with courage and great love. She struggled with ovarian cancer for over 13 years, never once losing sight of the incredible gift that is life.
Those who knew Karen understood her patience, humility, warmth and enormous intellectual and artistic capacities. Curiosity, creativity, and humor kept her active in gardening, reading, cooking, painting, writing, and finding solutions to anything and everything that needed fixing! She loved animals, bird watching, and the simple joy of meeting a new person and listening to their story. “Never underestimate humanity’s ability to do good for one another,” was a theme that she spoke of often in her final weeks. She distinctly meant it as reminder to all of us to love, serve, and never lose hope – neither in one another or ourselves. Her radiant, unique spirit will be greatly missed.
Karen is survived by her siblings, Raymond Brunstrom, Bonnie Maynard, Ryan Murphy, her daughter, Lara Sanderson, son-in-law, Jeff Sanderson, and two step-children, Terry Berkemeyer and Steve Tonelli.
Services will be held 11 a.m. on Saturday, October 20th at:
Greenwood Memorial Park Funeral Home,
350 Monroe Ave NE
Renton, WA 98056,
(425) 255-1511
*Please wear white or bright colors, as this will be a celebration of light!
The family requests honorary donations be made in Karen’s name to:
“Kaplan Cancer Research Fund”
Swedish Medical Center Foundation,
747 Broadway
Seattle, WA 98122,
(206) 386-2738
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