Karen Jean Dahlberg

Born June 1, 1953 in San Francisco, Ca. passed away December 5, 2025 surrounded by loving friends and family. Karen was preceded in death by her mother Doris Dahlberg, her father Donald Dahlberg and brother Mark Dahlberg. Karen is survived by brother Myles( Stephanie) Dahlberg of Tennessee, brother Matthew ( Collette) Dahlberg of NY, Marks wife Rebel Dahlberg of Nevada, nephews Chad (Celia) Dahlberg, Russell (Jennifer) Dahlberg of Nevada, Luke Dahlberg of NY, Bradley Pace of California and niece Brianna Bittleston of Tennessee.

Karen spent her early years in Pacifica, and in the mid 1960s, moved to Salida in the Central Valley, where her mother ran the Don Pedro Motel for several years. The family then move into Modesto where Karen graduated from Downey HS in 1971, went to MJC and worked at Doctors hospital as a kitchen aide. In 1975, she started her public service as a dispatcher for Modesto PD, and was one of the first 911 dispatchers when the Stanislaus County Emergency Dispatch was founded. Karen became a legend, being an excellent dispatcher, taking pride in caring for her “troops ”. After leaving county service, she took a position at Modesto PD as a Property and Evidence Technician until retirement, having served in dedicated public service for 36yrs. Thru-out her life, she loved being in or near the water. In her early years, she spent summers at her grandparents place in Clear Lake with her family and in later years, with lots of friends doing various water sports. Karen was an avid reader, with a passion for reading crime books including James Patterson and Patricia Cornwell. One of her greatest pleasures was a shopping trip to Macys or ‘the city’ where she knew some kind of treasure was waiting to be hers. And a source of pride for the past 30 years was the little College area neighborhood where she lived and enjoyed getting to know all of her neighbors, where everyone watched over each other. A true source of comfort was always a little 4 legged furry friend, most recently her Bella, a rescue from the pound. Bella is truly lost without her. A private internment will be held at a later date at Lakewood Memorial, next to her beloved maternal Grandparents, Bill and Gertie Baird. Karen was loved by many and will be missed by all who knew her. Donations can be made to American Heart association and the Friends of the Modesto Library.