

Koren was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, on January 25, 1959, to Geraldine M. (Ferris) and Clare E. VanAusdal.
She graduated from Kearns High School in Kearns, Utah, in 1977 before going on to earn a bachelor’s degree in secondary education from Utah State University in 1981 and serving as a math teacher at Cyprus High School in Magna, Utah.
Koren met Joe W. Lyons in college in 1977. They married on August 1, 1984, years after welcoming their son, Joel C. Lyons, in 1979. Their family moved from West Valley City, Utah, to Phoenix, Arizona, in 1991.
Koren earned a certificate in paralegal studies from the AZ Paralegal Training Program in 1997, and soon began a career in law that included stints as a paralegal and research librarian at Snell & Wilmer LLP in Phoenix, and as a senior paralegal with the Education and Health section of the Arizona Attorney General's Office, from which she retired in 2024.
Koren was passionate about education and justice; an avid crafter and reader; a lover of music and sea life; a devoted watcher of "Survivor" and "The Amazing Race"; and rarely missed an Arizona Diamondbacks game.
She is survived by her husband Joe; son Joel and partner Craig Bertz; brother Charles E. VanAusdal and wife Shelly; sister Teresa (VanAusdal) Homola; brother Clare L. VanAusdal; in-laws Mary Jane Fierro, Rosie Patterson, Gloria Lyons, Eartha Lyons, Harvey Bell and Evonne Lyons; and numerous nieces and nephews. She is preceded in death by father Clare and mother Geraldine; and in-laws Ossie (Lyons) Bell, Larry Lyons and Jimmie (Lyons) Bennette.
Celebration of life events will be held in Glendale, Arizona, and South Jordan, Utah, later this year.
SHARE OBITUARYSHARE
v.1.18.0