Karen Grace (Olsen) Goodwin succumbed to her decade long battle with cancer, passing on February 23, 2024, while in the comfort of Delaware Hospice. Karen was the only child of Norman and Mary Olsen. She is survived by her husband, Kevin, of 35 years, and several cousins.
Karen grew up in Rahway, NJ where she graduated from high school in 1970. She went on to attend and earn a BS in Speech Pathology from Kean University in NJ in 1974; returning later to earn a MS in the same field in 1981. Between degrees, she taught at the Bergen Center, a school for children with special needs. From there she held different jobs, twice working as an insurance specialist for doctors she was seeing for vision or allergies. She decided to become a full-time homemaker in 1989.
Karen spent several summers working at the Silver Bay YMCA Conference Center in upstate New York. At 9:00pm on July 4th in the summer of 1974, she first met the man she would marry – 14 years later. As he tells the story, they met because OPEC would not sell the USA oil after supporting Israel in the Yum Kippur war. She preferred to mention the fact she still had every letter that Kevin ever wrote to her; none from any other beau.
Karen enjoyed her dedicated involvement with both Walk to Emmaus, where she had the pleasure of serving as a Lay Director for a Women’s weekend and Marriage Encounter, where they were the regional Finance couple for years. When her husband got involved with national parts of the United Methodist church, she became his important helping hand. Karen was a life-long Methodist and was a member of the Hockessin United Methodist Church since getting married and joining Kevin in Delaware, where he was employed by DuPont.
Karen’s Celebration of Life will be held at 11:00am on March 14, 2024 at the Hockessin United Methodist Church, 7250 Lancaster Pike, Hockessin, DE 19707. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Goodwin Family Scholarship Fund at Africa University, part of the United Methodist Church is requested. Gifts can be sent to the Africa University Development Office PO Box 340007 Nashville, TN 37203-0007.
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