Arlene H. Karp

Arlene Renee Haims Karp, beloved wife of Charles (1928-83), mother of Douglas (and Dr. Sharon Karp) and Arnold (and Lisa) Karp of New Canaan, grandmother of Michael, Lauren, Jonathan and Samantha, Danielle and Alexa, passed away on January 29, 2011.

Arlene was born in Norwalk, Connecticut on September 18, 1931, the daughter of the late Harry and Lillian Vallon Haims. She graduated from Stamford High School in 1949, and attended the University of Connecticut. She married Charles Meier Karp of Stamford in 1951, living in Stamford except for several years during his naval service in Johnsville, Pennsylvania.

Arlene’s passion for family was reflected in her dedication and commitment to her loved ones. She loved and cared for Charlie in sickness and in health, every day until his death in 1983 at age 55. Her sons, Doug and Arnold, were the center of her life until the arrival of her first “girls”, her daughters (more than) in law Sharon and Lisa, and then her grandchildren Michael, Lauren, Samantha, Jonathan, Danielle and Alexa in succession between 1988 and 1999. She spent weeks with her family on trips to Cape Cod, Puerto Rico, the Rhode Island shore and St. Kitts. In 1986, Arlene married Edward Greenberg and relocated to West Haven and Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Following Edward Greenberg’s death, she returned to New Canaan, living with her son Arnold and family while maintaining her residence in Florida.

Family and friends will miss her devotion, her coupon-clipping, her occasional intransigence and her love of all dogs, most especially Cleo, Star, Nikki, Molly, Aston and Bentley. She always maintained a dog dish in her house just in case a needy canine visitor arrived looking hungry or thirsty. We will miss her brisket, her apple cake, her love of gardening, her need to meddle lovingly in every aspect of her family’s life, and the lessons she taught by example through her long and loving care of her parents, her husbands, her children and grandchildren. Arlene was a member of the National Council of Jewish Women, Brandeis Women and a devoted supporter of her family’s educational and charitable causes.

Charlie used to remark that the family had come a long way from the bakery on Pacific Street. From the time she was 16, when he escorted her to her Sweet Sixteen party, Arlene was his companion and support on that journey, which for her ran from Strawberry Hill in Norwalk to Pepper Ridge Road in Stamford, and then to New Canaan, Palm Beach Gardens and Watch Hill.

Her family expresses its great appreciation for the extraordinary skills of Dr. K.M. Steve Lo and the staff of the Bennett Cancer Center, whose expertise enabled her to celebrate five years of special occasions with family and friends after her treatment. Having overcome the cancer, she passed away from a sudden hemorrhage caused by a brain aneurism.

Arlene also leaves her long devoted friends in Florida and Connecticut who were her great support when Charlie and Edward passed away and who made room in their lives when she was a young widow.

Funeral services will be held at Leo P. Gallagher Funeral Home, 2900 Summer Street, Stamford on Friday, February 4th at 9:30 a.m, with burial to follow at Temple Beth El Cemetery. The family will be sitting shiva at the home of Arnold and Lisa, beginning on Saturday at 6:00 pm through Sunday evening. Shiva will continue on Monday through Wednesday at the home of Douglas and Sharon. A memorial service in Palm Beach Gardens will be scheduled at a later date.

The family has asked that memorial contributions be directed to the Mill River Park Collaborative - Arlene Haims Karp Memorial Fund, Post Office box 1401, Stamford, CT 06904 - 1401 [or to a charity of one’s choice].