Dr. Karen E. Chancellor, who served as Shelby County's medical examiner for nearly 14 years, died unexpectedly Friday, September 10, following a car crash on Sam Cooper Boulevard. She was 64. While scholarship and medical excellence were the underpinnings of Karen's public life, she was so much more. Karen was a loving daughter and sister, a doctor, a scientist, a tireless sleuth, a woodworker, a kite builder, a harmonica player, and one of the kindest and most unassuming human beings to grace our earth. Karen was born in Memphis, the daughter of the late Elizabeth and Earl Wynne Chancellor. At an early age Karen showed her penchant for scholarship. After graduating from Overton High School, she became one of the first students to graduate from the University of Memphis with an undergraduate and master's degree in mathematics at the same time. She graduated from Duke University School of Medicine in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and had planned a career in medical research. Her plans changed however while she was a forensic pathology resident at the University of Kentucky. She came across what was to be a routine case: a man found dead in a recliner with the television on and a remote control in his hand. During the autopsy, Karen found evidence of a murder and became fascinated by the investigative work a doctor could offer. Karen returned to Chapel Hill where she earned board certification in forensic pathology and neuropathology. She served as the Associate Chief Medical Examiner for North Carolina before being appointed in 2004 as the Chief Medical Examiner of Shelby County. In this role, she felt that her mission was to speak for those who could no longer speak. While in Memphis, Karen worked on more than autopsies. She served as Deputy Chief State Medical Examiner for Tennessee and was a professor of pathology at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. She was instrumental in merging the county’s Medical Examiner's office with the University of Tennessee Health Science Center - a move she believed would encourage medical students to pursue careers in forensic pathology. Karen spent countless hours trying to educate the public about Shaken Baby Syndrome and she forewarned others about the rise of the opioid crisis in Shelby County. In 2012 she was awarded the University of Memphis' Outstanding Alumna Award. Although pathology was her passion, Karen had many interests. In recent years she became very involved with ham radio operation and taught remote courses in Morse code. Karen is survived by her sisters, Carol Wynne Chancellor of Memphis, and Faye (Stasiek) Sylwestrowicz of Gdansk, Poland; two nephews, Daniel Sylwestrowicz of Kansas City, Mo., and Michal (Kaja) Sylwestrowicz, and a great-niece, Eunice, of Gdansk; and a niece, Esther Sylwestrowicz of Gdansk. Karen also leaves behind the many students she taught who carry on her legacy of medical excellence. A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Monday, September 20, at Family Funeral Care, 4925 Summer Ave. The Chancellor family asks that you remember Karen with a donation to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital or a charity of the donor’s choice.
