Karen Bernice Murray

Karen Bernice Murray (Vance) died on June 17, 2017 in Redmond, Washington.

Born November 2, 1945 in Spokane, Washington, Karen was raised on the slopes of Stevens Pass where she learned to ski almost before she could walk. Her love of skiing led to many trophies and medals, including being crowned the Junior National Alpine Ski Champion in 1962 in the Slalom event. After earning her teaching certificate from Western Washington State College (now Western Washington University), she married Michael H. Murray in 1968. They had two sons, Brian and Paul.

Karen taught reading and was the school librarian for many years at Holy Family Elementary in Kirkland. In her retirement, she was an active Volunteer and Docent at the Woodland Park Zoo, logging more than 1,000 volunteer hours. Her time at the zoo led to a life-changing opportunity to travel to Kenya with the Maasai Association in 2006. Karen chose to take risks in her life and refused to be limited by lifelong health challenges. Despite juvenile diabetes, heart problems, and multiple myeloma, Karen enjoyed a full life and persisted in outliving and outdoing all medical prognoses.

We are thankful for Karen's kindness, strength, humor, and her stubborn resolve; we are also grateful for the diabetes research that made her life possible, for the medical care from Seattle Cancer Care and EvergreenHealth that allowed her granddaughter to have memories of her grandmother, and for the compassion and grace of Evergreen Hospice Care.

She is survived by Michael, her husband of 49 years, son Brian, daughter-in-law Christy, granddaughter Cassidy, sisters Merrilyn and Sharon and an extended family who have provided much love, support, and laughter over the years.

She is preceded in death by her son Paul Vance Murray.

Donations may be made to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (jdrf.org), Woodland Park Zoo (zoo.org), and the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance (seattlecca.org).