Karen Ann Carlsen

She was born on Staten Island, NY on July 6, 1944. She graduated from Woodbridge Senior High School and continued on to receive a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Thiel College.

Karen is survived by her only daughter, Cynthia Mueller Hall, her three grandchildren, Abigail, Margaret, and Thomas, her sister, Sonia Carlsen Fedak, her nieces Kim Brunstad and Sherie MacGregor, her son-in-law Ruffin Hall, and other family and friends.

Karen is preceded in death by her father Captain Henrik Kurt Carlsen and her mother Agnes Sorensen Carlsen. Captain Carlsen had a strong influence on Karen’s life as he upheld a strong example of duty and honor during his ordeal at sea on the Flying Enterprise during the winter of 1951-1952. From this pivotal event, Karen learned to work hard, do one’s duty with no expectation of reward, and to believe that one person can truly make a difference.

For her career, Karen committed herself to being a successful licensed Real Estate Agent & Broker for over 45 years. When she started on this path in the early 1970’s, the field was largely male dominated. In order to be competitive and to gain clients, she invested time and energy to understand all aspects of real estate and by 1978 became a licensed builder so she could fully understand building codes and represent new construction homes and condominiums. She started and ran her own Real Estate company, K.C. Colonial Real Estate, which she eventually sold to and then worked for Remerica Hometown Realtors.

She was an avid bridge player, both social and duplicate bridge, and played so often as a young adult while commuting to her job in New York City, that she earned Master’s points from various bridge tournaments held on the train.

She had the heart of a servant leader and spent much time volunteering in her community. During the 1980’s she served as both a member and then President of the Plymouth Symphony League. Next she joined and became President of the Woman’s Club of Plymouth, where she started a scholarship ball program to recognize and celebrate local high school seniors. Active in politics starting in the 1990’s, she served on the Plymouth Township Board of Trustees from 1992-2000 and was the Republican Candidate for State Representative in 1998. Though she did not win the State Representative seat, she continued to serve her community as a member of the Plymouth Township Planning Commission from 2001-2005. She continued to volunteer and sell real estate until she moved out of state in 2019 to be with her loved ones.

Karen’s funeral will be held at 2:00pm on July 6, 2023, at Christ Church in downtown Raleigh, NC. The Rev. Mary Davila will be officiating with a reception directly after the service.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be given to the UNC Health Foundation, Neurology Alzheimer’s Research Fund. Please go to give.unc.edu, select UNC Health Foundation, and search for the Neurology Alzheimer’s Research Fund to support the excellent work they are doing. You can also use the direct link: https://give.unc.edu/hfdonate?f=348403 To learn more about the research performed by the Memory Disorders Clinic, including a joint program between UNC and Duke, search the UNC School of Medicine, Neurology internet site.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared for the Carlsen family by clicking "add a memory" below.