Karen H Garrett

Karen H. Garrett, age 81 died July 13, 2023 related to a series of seizures and strokes. She was born November 16, 1941 in Kansas City, Missouri to Frederick Beedle Nichols and Edna Beulah McKinley Garrett, and adopted at age 18 by Robert Garrett. Karen was employed for 30 years with the City of San Francisco as an office manager in various agencies. She enjoyed playing the piano and guitar, gardening, bird watching, writing poetry, the visual arts of photography and pencil sketching. She belonged to Siberian Husky organizations promoting her love for the breed. She was a breast cancer survivor. She bought a farm and partnered with a sharecropper in Kansas. During her retirement, she moved to LaCygne, Kansas and interviewed over 100 farmers for the purpose of documenting the stories of farming families and farming practices in Kansas. Karen was a collector of many things and people. An animated and friendly person, she was known to be generous to others. She is survived by her only child, Valerie Stannard and grandchildren, Aaron Stannard and Haley Stannard of Appleton, Wisconsin. Chapel of the Chimes funeral home of Santa Rosa, California has assisted in her final arrangements.

Thank you to David Nichols (brother) and Ellen Garrett (niece) for maintaining family connections. Appreciation is extended to hospital staff in Novato and Santa Rosa, and particularly the Wild Rose Board and Care staff of Santa Rosa who took excellent care of Karen over the past two years. Thank you also to Jonathon Barnes, Wenonah Castro and JR Hastings who provided extraordinary service to Karen during her final years