Karen Lea DeSimone

Karen Lea DeSimone of Austin, Texas passed away on October 28, 2026 at the age of 81. She was born on May 24, 1945 in Garden City, Kansas to Harold and Roberta Niquette. Raised in Colorado, she graduated from Alameda High School in 1963. She later graduated at age 55 from Mesa State College (now Colorado Mesa University) in 2000 with an Associate of Arts degree with High Distinction.

She resided in Colorado, California, Illinois, and Texas. She was outgoing and supportive, vivacious and loquacious. She researched her family’s genealogy, and helped plan a few family reunions. Karen was an active volunteer at Pantego Christian Academy in the 1980s, and involved in many projects and charities wherever she lived.

She has worked numerous jobs over her lifetime, focusing on accounting and clerical work. She also worked as a realtor at Century 21 in Schaumburg, Illinois. She worked for the Mansfield Chamber of Commerce in Mansfield, Texas, and most recently worked as an Administrative Assistant at Tarrant County College from 2010 until retiring in 2020. She treated coworkers and friends as family, and supported several students in their education travels.

Karen was active in several churches through 2004, including Holy Cross Lutheran Church and All Saints Lutheran Church in Arlington, Texas, and Shepherd of the Valley and American Lutheran Church in Grand Junction, Colorado. She loved reading and libraries, and most recently volunteered at the Jarrell Community Library in Jarrell, Texas from 2020 to 2025.

She had several hobbies such as dancing, playing piano, and crochet, and was a fan of Country and Christian music. She had a strong Christian faith, sharing it with people she met, and was an avid reader of the Bible, completing her 17th trip through it on January 10, 2026.

She is preceded in death by her parents. She is survived by her son Mike, sister Lori Niquette and brothers Jim and George Niquette, several nieces and nephews, cousins, and friends.

In keeping with her wishes, Karen was cremated. Family and friends are invited to attend an informal visitation at Cook-Walden Chapel of the Hills funeral home in Austin, Texas on Sunday, November 15, 2026, at 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM. In spring of 2027, there will be a service in Colorado, after which her ashes will be scattered on her friends’ land in the Rocky Mountains she loved.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in Karen’s honor to Jarrell Community Library and Resource Center in Jarrell, Texas, or Finney County Historical Society in Garden City, Kansas.