Place of birth

Fruit Cove, FL

Most recently lived in

Jacksonville, FL

Karen's favorite hobbies

She loved to read, go to the beach, and spend time with her children and grandchildren.

Karen's favorite foods

Spaghetti, Cake, Coca Cola, and Fresh Fruits and Vegetables.

Favorite bands and musical artists

Jimmy Buffet, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Styx

Interesting facts about Karen

Although some may know that Karen struggled with Alcoholism and Addiction, many of those close to her knee that Karen never stopped trying to get clean. She had 12 years and 14 years clean at two different times of her life. She struggled with Chronic Kidney Disease for most of her life, but you wouldn't know it because Karen didn't want how she felt to affect those around her, so everybody that knew her, knew the smile that she wore most of the time, because she felt like if you smiled at a person, you could make their day, or change their mood. Her policy was ALWAYS to "kill them with kindness". With addiction, relapses happen, but she refused to let drugs get the best of her. She loved the program Alcoholics Anonymous, and during her relapses, she would always go back to AA to get sober, no matter what. She NEVER GAVE UP trying to get sober. She fought to get sober while dealing with Kidney Disease so bad, she lost 90% use of one kidney, and the other one needed stints put in it every 6 months or so. Her children watched her many times, just lie on the floor of a hospital, and just cry. One time she laid on the floor at Shands in downtown Jacksonville for six hours, kicked her legs and cried the whole time, and not one Nurse helped her. One even stepped over her legs to help another patient. That experience is what made her want to be a Nurse. To help with the pain of her kidney disease, her doctor's prescribed her pain medicine, which allowed her to work, but kicked her addiction back to life after years of dormancy, but Karen fought it. She fought it til the day she took her last breath, and her family knew her as their rock. All of them. She was the strongest woman they knew. She will be missed. Most of all by her brother and sister, Lisa and Wayne, and her children, James and Jennifer.

Karen loved nothing more than

helping people, being a nurse, and being a Mom.

Favorite place in the world

Savannah, Georgia

Favorite TV shows

The Big Bang Theory, The Young and the Restless, The Bold and the Beautiful, The Rachel Maddow Show, and anything to do with LGBTQ+.

Favorite sports

Karen's proudest accomplishments

Karen had many close friends and family members who came out to her first, because they knew she'd be accepting. She encouraged everyone to love one another and to always be yourself. Karen's daughter, Jennifer, named her first child, and Karen's first grandchild, Savannah Grace Parker, got her middle name after her "Granny". Her maiden name was Karen Grace Hendrix. Karen missed Savannah's birth by just a couple hours, because she had mandatory clinicals while enrolled in FSCJ's Nursing Program. Nevertheless, she was elated to welcome her first grandbaby, and equality as excited that the baby girl shared her middle name!