Karen Claudia Lutz

KC grew up in Fairfield Connecticut on Long Island Sound. She and her family were all tone deaf, so their singing Happy Birthday at family events was uniquely odd and often cut short by laughter. But KC was a music lover with wide-ranging and varied taste. She introduced her children to everything from Mozart to Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong, to Bowie, Van Morrison, and her favorite guitarists, Duane Allman, Mark Knofler, Ry Cooder, and Prince. KC cranked up Nine Inch Nails, White Stripes and the Tank Girl soundtrack while carpooling kids to school. She once worked as a “go-go dancer”, dancing in a cage above the club stage. She saw the Beatles in concert at Shea Stadium. KC attended the Woodstock Music Festival, although she left early because it was a rainy, muddy mess. Her favorite performance was Taj Mahal at Jazz Alley with her mother-in-law Bette Lutz.

KC was an avid skier, equestrian, and hiker. KC and her husband Jerry Lutz met when they both were ski bums at Alta Utah in 1982. John Cahill once told Jerry that KC “has the nicest ass in Alta”, and she was not afraid to flaunt it. KC and Jerry attended the University of Utah Law School together. After a few years together, KC wanted to have a baby. An able negotiator, Jerry declined the invitation unless they were married. Ever the better negotiator, KC agreed but only if she was expecting at the time of the wedding. The deal resulted in a marriage in December 1985 officiated by the Mayor of Alta and the birth of their first child eight months later. They recently celebrated their 40th anniversary. They moved to Washington State in 1987 and for the past 19 years they lived on a small hobby farm northeast of Seattle with their beloved horses, dogs, and cats. KC was blessed to have a “heart horse”, Duke. She loved ballet, particularly all things Balanchine.

KC was an attorney and mediator. She was a fierce advocate for women’s equality and civil rights. She raised both her children to have faith in themselves, to speak their minds and to be willing to stand up to anyone, and men in particular. KC was a voracious reader and once read 60 novels in a single month. She was funny and sassy, and sometimes stubborn. As a child she wrote to the tooth fairy: “Dear Good Fairy, Please do not Forget to take my tooth this time. And I want twice as much money. LOVE! Karen.” Her mother kept the note as a treasured reminder of the spirit and force of nature that her daughter was.

In the mid-1990s, KC developed idiopathic chronic pain and neuropathy. The condition persisted and progressed for the entire second half of her life. She tried an array of both traditional and alternative therapies. None was successful, and she was left to deal with her condition with only pain management as palliative care. Undaunted, KC continued to enjoy her life as best she could, with her family and pets the objects of her devotion. She hiked, she rode horses, and skied later in life, for as long as she could. Her last ski run was in 2017. She carted with ponies for several years after she no longer could ride horses. Ultimately, KC became wheelchair dependent. Even then, she was a bit of a wild driver, once ditching Jerry and Ali in Chicago’s O’Hare airport, speeding through crowds of travelers at a pace that pedestrians could not match. She continued to follow ski racing, often watching live very early morning European broadcasts. In her final years she watched more movies and TV than most people watch in a lifetime. She forced friends and family to endure reruns of Mikaela Shiffren, Prince’s “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” guitar solo and Balanchine’s “Diamonds”. She was blessed to spend quite a bit of time with her grandson Remy, including three months last winter in Reno, Nevada. KC’s friend Jean Mills and sister-in-law Pam Lutz helped keep KC company when Jerry had to be away from home.

KC is survived by Jerry and their children Dr. Alison Lutz (Justin Bourne and their son Remy Bourne), Rosalie Lutz (another lawyer), niece Jessica Tallman (Daryl and their children Leo and Jordi), nephew Jerry Host, and in-laws Dr. Jim and Annie Lutz, their children and grandchildren Emily Sanfelippo (Jon and their children Charlie and Anne Marie Sanfelippo), Mark Lutz (Christy and their children Susie, Ellie and Lily Lutz), and Marie Lutz, Dr. Pam Lutz and Dr. Adam Levy and their children Spencer and Fletcher Levy, Jeff and Kathy Lutz and their children Annie Damewood (French), and Liza Hollingsworth (Ryan and their newborn daughter Kit Jane (KJ) Hollingsworth).

KC insisted that there be no funeral service for her. Instead, she directed Jerry to take the kids helicopter skiing. For those who are so inclined, in lieu of flowers please make a donation of any amount to Planned Parenthood, the ACLU, an animal charity other than PETA, or another charity of your choice.