Leaving this world with all the grace and tenacity with which she lived, friend, mother, and wife, Karen Rose Thomas has joined the angels in heaven. Karen bravely and fiercely fought a 15 year battle with cancer, but following complications from a bone marrow transplant, she succumbed on August 16, 2020 at the age of 69, surrounded by husband Lee and daughters Jennifer and Lindsey.

Karen was born in June of 1951 to Jack and Norma McCauley. She lived her entire childhood in the same home on Henderson street, attending Lincoln Elementary, Jacobs Junior High, and graduating with the class of 1969 from Eureka High School. Karen made lifelong friendships with Janet (Maas) Munther, Patty (Campbell), Judy (Stuckey) Stiles, Carol (Jackson) Sepulveda, and Mickey (Wright) Harris, remaining close to all of them throughout her life.

To her absolute delight, in 1974 she and first husband Larry Westberg welcomed their daughter, Jennifer. It instantly filled her heart with love—she was always meant to be a mom. In 1981, they were blessed with another sweet daughter, Lindsey. She was overjoyed to be a mother to two absolutely wonderful women, doing all that was possible to help them succeed. Her dream was that her girls accomplish their goals, find purpose in life, and find their own happiness.

In 1980, she and her family relocated to Salem, Oregon, where she worked at Commercial Bank while continuing to help her girls navigate adolescence. Helping with homework, cheering from the stands, and being there for her girls were always her priorities. During her time in Oregon, she developed another strong network of friends in Betsy Brawner and Becky Hazelbaker, remaining close to them throughout her life.

In 1988, she was set up on a blind date by close friends Gary and Lynn Cunningham. This blind date would introduce her to the love of her life, Lee Thomas, and nine months later in 1989, Karen and Lee were married in Salem, Oregon. Karen was ecstatic to not only gain a loving and kind husband, but also a “bonus daughter,” Julie. Together with their three beautiful girls, Karen and Lee built a life based on the special relationships they had with each other and the many friends in their lives.

To the delight of her Humboldt family and friends, Karen and her girls eventually moved back to Eureka and into their home on Glenwood Street. Shortly after their move home, Karen began working at General Hospital, remaining there until the hospital’s closure. She took great pride in her work, eventually working for St. Joseph Hospital and then North Coast Anesthesia Providers until her retirement in 2015. Wherever Karen was employed, she was an asset, making lifetime friends and memories.

Karen was greatly deserving of her retirement, and she enjoyed it as she did all things: to the fullest. She and Lee spent as much time as possible traveling to tropical climates with beautiful beaches and plenty of places to swim. Karen loved to spend her time swimming, floating in the water, and soaking up the sun. She made it a priority to spend quality time with friends and family as well, and Karen and Lee had many wonderful traditions: Happy Trails Camp in Arizona where she and Lee would meet up with Linda and Leif and her brother Ken and Kerry; Surprise, AZ, for two months every winter to attend spring training, where they would watch and cheer for her favorite team, the San Francisco Giants; Trinity Lake every year for the 4th of July where they would float on the lake and play cards and board games with the Noga families; Westfir, camping on the banks of the Willamette River every summer for two weeks with Jennifer and her family; attending the annual trucker’s parade with her friend Mickey and family; and spending time on the boat with Lindsey and her family.

She filled her time with the people, places, and activities she loved. She never missed an event or an opportunity to celebrate life. She always showed up, helped out wherever she was needed, and provided love and support to all who knew her. She was the smiling face in the room, no matter what she was going through. As generations continued, so did Karen’s legacy of love, earning her the title of “Bonus Grammy” to many. She had a heart for others that also extended to outreach and service. She and her longtime friends Mickey and Carol became the “Three Amigos,” whose mission was to bring happiness to others battling cancer since they were all cancer fighters themselves. They prepared survivor kits and delivered them to those battling in the hospital. They brought much joy to many who were in some of their toughest battles.

Karen was an extremely talented quilter. She had a knack for picking out the perfect contrasting fabrics from which she would make works of art to proudly gift to her friends and family. Anyone who has a quilt from Karen knows the amount of time and love she put into each and every one of them to make them unique and special. She also loved photos, taking pictures on all her trips and adventures with her family and friends. She would be the first to take out her camera and snap photos so everyone had memories of their best shared moments. She sincerely treasured the last big adventure she and Lee shared when they traveled to Maui to celebrate friends Jack and Mickey for their 50th Anniversary.

Beyond having her own daughters, some of Karen’s biggest blessings were the gifts of her grandchildren. Macy made her a Grammy and shares Karen’s passion for sewing, a love of all things colorful, and unconditional kindness to all. Braeden loved to cook amazing meals for his Grammy, which she loved to brag about. Kellen will always remember getting up early with Grammy and visiting by the fire while she drank her coffee. Karen was endlessly amazed and entertained by Natalee’s intelligence and witty sense of humor, they were always laughing together or working on crafts. Sweet Olive came up with the most treasured nicknames: “Queen Grammy” and “Hot Papa” along with “Auntie Sausage” for Jennifer which Karen giggled endlessly about. She could not have been more proud of the sweet, kind, smart, and loving kids she got to call her grandchildren. She loved every moment she was able to spend with them and was so grateful for her last trip together in Oregon.

Karen was the definition of a kind and selfless soul. She is now in heaven reunited with, and continuing to take care of, everyone she loved who’d gone before her. She will forever be a guardian angel to all who loved her, and her family and friends are blessed to know she is up there watching HGTV, drinking her hazelnut coffee, shopping for new quilt fabric, catching up on Facebook posts, and putting vacuum tracks in the clouds.

She was welcomed to heaven by her father, Jack McCauley; brother, Ken McCauley; in-laws Doris and Jack Westberg; and friends Carol Jackson and Mike Noga.

She is survived on this earth by her mother, Norma McCauley; husband Lee Thomas; and her three daughters and their beautiful families: Jennifer, Rob, Macy, and Kellen Bornheimer; Lindsey, Sean, Natalee, and Olive Austin; Julie, Andre, and Braeden Steinle; sister Kathleen McCauley; niece Savannah McCauley; sister-in-law Kerry McCauley; niece Kimberly Cox; stepbrother David Startare (Tammy); stepsister Diane Viale (Clifford); and special friends Mickey and Jack Harris, Kelli and Chuck Damon, Gary and Lynn Cunningham, Delynn Noga, cousins Linda and Leif Flak, and all of their families, which Karen considered her extended family.

Special thanks to Marci Dahl and her staff at St. Joseph Infusion Center; Dr. Spurgeon at OHSU; and special confidante of Karen and Lee’s, Dr. Tom Ryds. Each of you ensured our sweet Karen had the very best treatment through it all.

For information about attending Karen’s Celebration f Life, or viewing the service via live-stream, please contact Mickey Harris at mickeylharris20@gmail.com or (530) 440-0787. For those attending, the family asks that you please wear fun, bright colors. If you were ever gifted a quilt by Karen please bring it along. This was Karen’s wish. In lieu of flowers, the family asks for any donations to be made to The Autism Society of Oregon. Information is available at Autismsocietyoregon.org.

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