Karen R Jennings

Karen Rae Jennings passed away on Tuesday, June 27, 2017, at her home in Olympia, WA, surrounded by her family and cats after a long battle with COPD.  Karen is predeceased by her parents, Alfred and Geraldine Ferrell of Spokane, WA.  Karen is survived by her devoted children, Brad (Kendra) Jennings, Brett Jennings, JoAnna (Gabe) Shanafelt and four beautiful granddaughters, Chantel Jennings, Emma & Mallory Shanafelt, and Aubrey Terrell, whom she loved fiercely as well as her loving siblings, Stephen (MaryKay) Ferrell, Dale Ferrell and Jerilyn Peterson.

Karen was raised in Spokane, WA and graduated from Central Valley High School and went on to receive her Bachelor’s Degree in Art History from Eastern Washington University (a college back then). She kept in contact with several of her friends from second grade (Liz, Joann, and Karyn to name a few).  She also faithfully attended many of her high school reunions and was looking forward to their 55^th reunion in September.

After graduating from Eastern, Karen traveled the world and experienced many great joys from living in Washington, Alabama, Texas, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Germany and trips to Italy, Greece, France, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, U.K, Austria, Luxemburg, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland and Liechtenstein acquiring art and furniture along the way.

At the age of 50, her eldest son, Brad, convinced her to try rock climbing and rappelling and she “rocked” it.  Her kids all considered her the “cool” mom and neighborhood kids and her kids’ friends were always welcome in her home.

One of her favorite yearly traditions was preparing for Memorial Day Weekend and decorating graves in more than 9 cemeteries from Olympia, Washington to Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho, with most of the 60+ graves in Spokane.  It was a family event involving a caravan of cars, plants, and plenty of pop (Coke).

Karen was a generous soul with a longing to help others, something that carried her through to her last days.  She worked in a specialty boutique for over a decade and was certified to fit women with prosthetics who had mastectomies.  She listened to their stories, saw their scars and often made them feel whole again.  She had a way of making everyone feel special from her clients to all the kids in her life.  She was a silent philanthropist, never boasting about her donations to her dearly loved local charities and she was a proud supporter of the Democratic Party and “her Hillary.”  She had a passion for design, baseball (her Mariner’s), gardening, puzzles, Elvis, and recently Pinterest and minion memes.  

Karen’s service will be held on Saturday, July 15, 2017, at 1pm at the Woodlawn Funeral Home and Cemetery located at 5930 Mullen Rd SE, Lacey, WA 98503.  A reception will follow at Funeral Home.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Thurston County Union Gospel Mission or the Thurston County YWCA.