Karen spent most of her childhood with her cousins on her Aunt Millie and Uncle Earl’s farm in Kent, CT. She graduated from Windsor High School and received her Associate’s degree in Business in 1972. She worked at several restaurants along the CT shoreline; The Bee and Thistle and Fin Bouche to start then The Gull in Essex where she met Marty, one of the talented Chefs. Karen and Marty married in 1980 and in 1985 they opened Wine and Roses, an adorable Italian style, Irish cuisine, family-friendly, carnation-and-candle-on-every-table kind of restaurant, where they happily served the public for eighteen wonderful, crazy, unforgettable years. They catered events from private parties and weddings to proms, rehearsal dinners and sports banquets. They couldn't have done it without their restaurant family. Those who knew Karen referred to her as “the hostess with the mostest” and she absolutely loved a great party.
Karen always embraced adventures; she enjoyed traveling and exploring different countries, skiing in Europe and in middle years, family vacations to tropical destinations. Summer Mondays were spent at the Town Beach in Old Saybrook until sunset with Pappy’s subs for everyone to share. In later years she was always up for a drive or a stroll in the sun. She was smart and she was strong. In her grandchildrens’ eyes, Nana was a Superwoman. She was an avid reader and collector of all things. She saw the potential in everything that crossed her path. Karen was incredibly creative and loved to cook. She crafted meals that looked like a picture out of a gourmet cookbook, presentation was always key. Her gardens were bountiful and eclectic; she could tell you the name of any flower or plant. Her sense of humor and endless knowledge on any topic made her the person everyone loved to talk to. She enjoyed scrabble, good food, tea after five and sunny days with neighbors, friends and family surrounded by flowers and birds in her gardens.
Karen is predeceased by her parents, Gunnar and Genevieve Kallstrom. She is survived by Devon and Ryan Cormier, their children Theodore and Gabriel, Dara and Sean Manley and Dyllin, her biggest fan. Karen is also survived by her cousins Linda and Tommy Yacuzzi, Sean and Heidi Peek, Dennis and Beverly LaFontan, Lyle, Vincent and Rebecca and all of their families. She also leaves behind her cousins Art and Howard (Kip) Kallstrom and many more friends and family too numerous to list but not forgotten.
Thank you to all the doctors and educators, Joslin Center for Diabetes, Hanger Clinic, the staff at Madison House Rehabilitation Center, Agency on Aging, Middlesex Health Care at Home, City Care Companions, Meals on Wheels, Old Saybrook Lifeline First Responders, OS ACE Hardware, The Paint Shop OS, Solari Brothers Carting and Family, OS Transfer Station, the crew behind the deli at Walt's Food Market, neighbors and friends for all your support and help the past few years.
Services will be private this spring where she will be reunited with her parents in Kent, CT. Please consider planting a tree or memorial grove in her memory as a living tribute. You will have the option to select which US National Forest you would like to help restore and her family will receive a card stating where the tree(s) were planted in her memory; https://www.alivingtribute.org/
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