Karen Anne Detlefsen was born March 2, 1944, in Glendale, California, to William Clinton and Doris Mae (Suitor) Watkins. She grew up in the Woodland Hills/Tarzana area of southern California and graduated from William H Taft High School in 1962. Karen married and started a family, moving to Oregon in the 1970s, to Lacomb for 30 years and most recently Lebanon for 20 years. She was a homemaker most of the time her three kids were home. Karen was an amazing mom in every way, not only to her own children, but to so many other “stray humans” along the way. She was the mom all the kids wanted to be around and she accepted everyone for who they were and as her own. Karen was a wonderful cook and always fed whoever happened to be around. Her children especially remember her popcorn popped on the stove and her tortillas fried in oil. Even now, the grandkids have taken to making popcorn only her way. The kids’ friends would hang out with Karen even if her own kids were not home and still visited even after becoming adults. She was always very involved in her own children’s lives and activities they were involved in, especially with 4-H. Sassy and a bit of a smart-alec with a dry and sarcastic sense of humor, Karen always loved to talk a little trash. She was the kind of person you were just drawn to. Karen was fiercely independent and incredibly strong. Life was not always easy, but she always made it work. When her marriage ended in the 1990s, Karen went to work as a caregiver, which was the perfect job for her since she was always taking care of everyone anyway. Although she was a homebody, Karen did enjoy getting out with her kids once in a while, whether it was a trip to the beach or going out to dinner or a movie. When the kids were younger, she would often take them to a matinee at the local town theater. When the kids were grown, they would come back to visit and insist on taking Karen out for dinner. One time they had the restaurant make a big deal about her birthday and boy was she ticked! Karen never wanted to be the center of attention, she was always more concerned with others and put them first, content to remain in the background. When she was at home, Karen enjoyed all kinds of crafting and coloring to pass the time. She often made projects for her grandchildren like handmade plaques for their bedroom doors. If you gave her a photo and it was not already in a frame, she would make beautiful frames to display them in. Karen also loved her daytime soap operas, especially the Young and the Restless and Days of Our Lives, but after they were over the TV was off. Karen made a lasting impact on so many lives it would be impossible to list all those who love her and will miss her. She was preceded in death by her parents and her brother Charles Scott Olin. Karen will be deeply missed by her children Teri Naraghi of Marysville, Kansas, Duane (Angie) Detlefsen of Hillsboro, Oregon, and Katie Detlefsen of Lebanon, Oregon; grandchildren Adam (Samantha Cabral) Davis of Scappoose, Oregon, and Maggie and Lily Detlefsen of Hillsboro, Oregon; great-grandchildren Logan, Abel, and Kyonna; sister Claudia Prutch of Bothell, Washington; nieces and nephews Torrey Maxwell, Patty Qualey, Matthew Prutch, Janet Hughes, Robert, Wendy, Jeremy, Andrew, Issac, Joseph, Grace, Bailey and Gaven; and all of her beloved bonus humans she so dearly loved. The family will hold a celebration of her life later this summer.
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