Karin Karafil

Karin Karafil, 79, of Westerville, passed away on May 13, 2020. She was born on August 19, 1940 in Superior, Wisconsin to the late W. Howard and Glen I. (Schweiger) Minor. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Donald G. Karafil and her brother, Garry L. Minor.

Karin is survived by her children Christine (Tom) Richardson and Gayle (Joel Guild) Karafil; grandchildren, Andrew (Shelby) Richardson, Nicholas (Olivia) Richardson, Kendra (Justin) Parlin, and Kody Richardson; siblings, Craig (Kelli) Minor and Mary (Dennis) Mack; great grandchildren, Myah, Gavin, and Noah.

Born in 1940 in Superior, Wisconsin, Karin Minor grew up in her much beloved hometown of St. Cloud, Minnesota. Though she left at the age of 18 to join the US Air Force (her older brother, Garry, had gone into the Army the year before) and didn’t return to St. Cloud for many years, she loved to tell stories about how wonderful it was growing up there and how much she loved the winters, especially. She was a true child of the North country.

In 1959-60, she was stationed at Lowry AFB in Denver, Colorado, where friends set her up on a blind date with a guy named Don Karafil, who was also stationed there. Legend has it that the date didn’t go well and their friends had to talk them into a second date! They were married in their dress uniforms just a few months later at a Presbyterian Church in Denver, on April 2, 1960, and stayed married until Don’s death in January 2010.

Karin and Don had two daughters, Gayle and Chris, both born in Michigan after Don was sent by the Air Force from Denver back to his home state. In early 1965, they moved from Michigan to Washington Court House, Ohio, when Don was stationed at the old Clinton County AFB. Karin was a stay-at-home mom for several years, then went to work for a few years for a local podiatry practice, while Don owned and operated the Tower of Pizza. She then went to work at Calmar Inc, where Don would join her after closing the pizza shop. She retired from Calmar in 1999, three years after Don. In 2000, they moved to Westerville, Ohio, to be closer to their children and grandchildren.

Her retirement years were some of her happiest. Karin brought her hard-earned wisdom and parenting skills to her relationship with her grandchildren and, like her daughters, they are better people because of it. She didn’t always have an easy life. Through chronic health issues and other setbacks, she still found the strength and willpower to give her all to her family. She was exceedingly kind and polite, never wanting to hurt anyone’s feelings, but she was also wickedly funny and although she was a stickler for proper grammar, she also knew how to use profanity to great effect (when appropriate, of course!), a skill that improved with age.

Karin was a complex woman who started out as a young, naive, teenaged girl from a smaller town and a sheltered upbringing. She went out into the world in the late 1950’s. Most of her early years were spent meeting the expectations of her family and society in general. We watched her grow and gradually assert herself as a person, not just as a mother and a wife. Throughout it all, her family remained first priority and although she never wavered in that responsibility, she also began to make it clear to her parents, her husband, and especially her daughters, who learned from her example, that she had her own interests, her own worldview and her own opinions. Her daughters and grandchildren are resourceful and independent in no small part because of her.

But if one word can define her life, it’s love. She had a natural empathy and a gift for loving fiercely and it drew people to her. Even though she was mostly a private person who often needed space and time to recharge, she was very sociable, as well. A great conversationalist (We called her “motor mouth”….a moniker she wore proudly) and story-teller, each person she encountered felt her empathy and her kindness . What people always seem to remember about her, and mention most often, was her smile. She had a quick, beautiful, wide, brilliant smile that served as a source of comfort for so many, even though she wasn’t always aware of the unique power she had. She was a giver and, even when she felt depleted, it was just in her nature to give and to always consider the other person.

Now that she has left us, her legacy to her family, friends, co-workers, and even casual acquaintances, is one of love, acceptance, and kindness. She meant so much to so many and we can only hope she understood her impact. We miss her. We will always miss her. She lives in all of us who were lucky enough to know her.

Per her wishes and that of her family, there will be no services. We will be honoring her in the manner that she chose, which is to gather at a later time at her favorite place in her home state of Minnesota.

We appreciate the kind words of sympathy and although we cannot come together with everyone to remember her, we feel the love for her from all of you who knew her.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Karin’s name may be made to Nationwide Children’s Hospital, OhioHealth Hospice, and the Vera Bradley Foundation for Breast Cancer.

Nationwide Children's Hospital

https://www.nationwidechildrens.org/giving?gclid=Cj0KCQjwnv71BRCOARIsAIkxW9FOGGIa8nxhI_RcIbkO0FvmEUrYQswDNDhDONKB_hG0giRl23bGoRQaAgyhEALw_wcB

OhioHealth Hospice

https://foundation.ohiohealth.com/programs/hospice-giving

Vera Bradley Foundation for Breast Cancer

https://interland3.donorperfect.net/weblink/weblink.aspx?id=3&name=verabradfbc