Karen Marie Brown

May 21, 1957 - April 7, 2022

Karen Marie Brown, 64, of Yakima passed away in the arms of her only child, Jennifer MarDean (Brown) Lewis, on April 7, 2022, at her daughter’s home in Richland, WA, after a year and four months of courageously battling post-COVID Pulmonary Fibrosis. Karen was born in Salmon, ID on May 21, 1957, to MarDean Cook (Weeks) Brown and Owen Jack “Bill” Brown. A few years after she was born, her family relocated to Placerville, CA. Her father, “Bill”, was a cowboy and all around handy man who loved taking his children up to the mountains to camp, ride horses, go boating, and cook over the campfire. Her mother, MarDean, was a stay-at-home mother who raised 6 children in the “boonies” of California, teaching her children how to cook and sew. Karen often reminisced over this time, missing the simple ‘Little House on the Prairie’ life. She graduated from El Dorado High School in 1975 and soon after her family relocated again, to Yakima. After moving to Yakima, Karen worked different clerical and office jobs, making lifelong friends wherever she went. For 13 years she found camaraderie among the Department of Corrections (Teamsters Local 760) as a Booking Office Specialist, where she was famous for bringing in home baked goods to share, until she had to retire early due to her COVID illness. Karen was a devoted single mother to her daughter, “Jenny”. It was her pride and joy to be a mother, and by example she taught Jenny strength, compassion, and faith. They were often together, going on their little “adventures,” be it hiking in Rainier Nat’l Forest, various road trips to festivals and museums, or just trying out a new restaurant. Karen was also a proud grandma to her only grandchild, Kyle Owen Lewis. The two of them had a strong bond, and were often inseparable. They shared a love of cellphone games and books of the fantasy genre, especially if they included dragons. She enjoyed many hobbies, including gardening, and counted cross stitch (for which she won an award at the Central Washington State Fair.) Karen’s main passion was genealogy and through the genealogical community and her own hard work, she was able to track some of her family lines as far back as the 1500s. Karen had a lot of love to give. She was often the first person called for advice, a recipe, or support, and could always be counted on to invite you in for tea, or a fresh baked goodie. If you needed anything, no matter how small or obscure the item, Karen most likely had it in her home and was willing to provide it to you. Her house was full of knick-knacks given by loved ones, family pictures spanning two hundred years, plants on almost every counter space, and books stacked upon books. She was a voracious reader who passed down her love of reading to her daughter and grandson. Karen loved her friends and family above everything else. Although she is no longer with us in body, she deeply believed that those we love are always with us in spirit, guiding our way. She is survived by her daughter Jennifer Lewis, son-in-law Cody Lewis, and grandson Kyle Lewis of Richland; three sisters, Sheryl Kelly (Bill Wiseman) of Selah, Linda Brown of Yakima, and Sandra Brown of Pacific Beach; a brother Brad Brown and his wife Barbara, of Selah, as well as numerous nieces and nephews and great nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her mother and father; a brother, Cary Brown; niece Debra Brown; nephew Jonathan Brown; Ken Powers (spouse of Linda), all of Yakima; a brother-in-law Rudy Head, of Pacific Beach; a long time friend Yvonne Lee of Yakima, as well as several beloved pets. A Celebration of Life will be held at Wixson Park in Selah Washington on May 21, 2022, at 12:30pm. All who knew her are welcome!