April 24, 1955 - August 26, 2024

Karen passed away quietly and in comfort at the Stanton Territorial Hospital, surrounded by friends and the love of family, after an all too brief battle with cancer. She leaves behind her siblings Nancy, Bruce (Janine), and nephew Uki (Nicole) and her two grandnieces Hana and Harper.

Karen grew up in Ottawa and was born to dance. A movement prodigy, combined with acuity of hearing, led her father to tell the adult Karen that "if she had been the first born, she would have been the last." In her own words, she was "smitten by the Irish jig at the age of 10," and took dance lessons and baton lessons from a neighborhood teacher. At age 16, she qualified as a Highland dancer and had years of little dancers trooping down to her parents' basement.

After graduating from Carleton University in geology (mineralogy) she worked in a lab at University of Quebec Chicoutimi and then spent several years as a mineralogist at Lakefield Research Station in Ontario. After a graduate diploma program in Exploration Geology from the University of Alberta, she worked for Noranda in Winnipeg (with field work in the North) and then at a number of contract positions before landing in Yellowknife in the early '90s. She spent the rest of her career as a District Geologist with the federal and territorial government. Karen collected rocks her entire life and would happily geek out with anyone at any time, whether they were geologists or not. Her favourite rock (and subject of her thesis)was anorthosite, which she explained is notable for its high feldspar content and its iridescence.

Karen soon became a part of the Yellowknife community. With an abundance of energy, she continued to teach Highland Dance, notably with the Spence School of Highland Dance, and always performed at the annual Robbie Burns evening. Her love of dance extended to all forms, including Scottish Country,Modern, Jazz, Hip-hop, Ballet, and, for a break, just moving to music at parties, festivals, and with - and on - the rocks. She was a founding member of both Crazy Legs Contemporary Dance Company and later the Yellowknife Dance Collective. She took the stage for performances in Yellowknife and Fort Simpson and choreographed many original pieces. Karen was an inspiration to the Yellowknife dance community and was always generous with her time and energy. Everyone from people trying dance for the first time to professional dancers was inspired and impressed by her creativity and energy. After watching or dancing with Karen, a near-universal reaction was "I want to be able to do that when I grow up." One of her yearly traditions was a choreography intensive with Margie Gillis at Hollyhock in British Columbia.

After retirement, Karen took her Yoga teacher training and taught Yoga at various venues around Yellowknife. She also travelled toMexico for regular Yoga retreats.

Karen was also a dedicated visual artist, and as a teenager sold hand screened and blocked cards on the patio of the National Arts Centre in Ottawa. She enjoyed painting classes in Yellowknife and had an impressive eye for art and design.

Karen had a love for her community and the outdoors and was often spotted walking (or dancing) along the rocks in Old Town, skiing Back Bay, biking up town or paddling one of the numerous lakes around Yellowknife. She enjoyed the view of willows, water, rocks, and wildlife from her house on Back Bay, and was often visited by scolding ravens. There was never a community event that Karen did not find time to attend with her infectious smile. Karen was able to get outside with friends in the sunshine, trees, and rocks at Stanton the day before she passed, which was a delight to her and a comfort to all her friends.

In memory of Karen please feel free to make donations to the Canadian Cancer Society to continue efforts to beat this disease that takes too many from us too soon. Further research to end the fight against cancer was one of Karen's final wishes. A special thanks for the care that Karen received from the Stanton Territorial Hospital, her support group, the Bushrat Pack, the dance and yoga communities, and her family.

A celebration for Karen will be held at the Yellowknife HistoricalMuseum from 2-5 pm on Saturday, October 26. A program will start at 2:30 pm. Everyone who was a friend to Karen is welcome.

Photo credit: Ty Hamilton