Karen was born in Minnesota, one of 7 children, and grew up in Lyon, Kansas. She and her husband, Harold, were friends in high school who later became sweethearts. They had two children – a son who died too young and a daughter, Annette. Harold was a forest ranger for the U.S. Forestry Department. His last assignment was at Lake Weddington in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Having grown up playing with Lincoln Logs, Harold always dreamed of building his own log cabin. When he retired they bought 18 acres outside of Tahlequah, near the Illinois River in Oklahoma. They also bought a small saw mill that logged one log at a time. Over the next 7 years, Karen and Harold would build, by hand, their own dream log cabin. Unfortunately Harold died on a hiking trip in Colorado just two short years after they moved in.

 

Karen worked for a decade at John Brown University in the graphics department where she spent a lot of time typesetting materials. She says she’s really happy desktop publishing has replaced typesetting. Most recently she was the office manager at her church where they quickly learned to appreciate her skills with small details.

 

Karen loves to cook and bake, and enjoys trying out new recipes. Lately she’s been learning to cook gluten-free. She’s quite the decorator, especially for the holidays. An eager traveler, she’s been to Hawaii 5 times with her daughter and granddaughter. She’s also traveled to Mexico and Jamaica. Karen enjoys getting together to play cards and games. She admitted her favorite game is a farm game she plays on-line with her niece in Kansas.

 

Having lived on the land alone for many years, Karen is now ready to move. She’s looking forward to being closer to her granddaughter, Amanda, in Tulsa. What interests her about Heartwood Commons is the feeling of community and how convenient it makes being around other people. She’s also interested in cooking meals in the Common House.