Karen Stafford
Posted
Jan. 9, 2007 ---------- STAFFORD, Karen Christine -- Kept her indomitable
spirit until her death, January 2, 2007, of Lou Gehrig’s
disease. Throughout her illness, she maintained her dazzling smile and
sparkling eyes.
blank Born in San Francisco on June 18, 1943, to Erma and Henry
Lautrup of Novato, she was educated in the Novato school system and studied
Spanish at UC Berkeley, with honors at entrance.
blank Karen moved to Southern California
and was married to Brad Savage in 1966. In 1977, the couple moved to Rohnert
Park, where they lived with their two children until 1987, when they divorced.
blank A
devoted parent and active community member, Karen pursued numerous activities.
She was a founding member of PEO Chapter UW in 1979 and was instrumental in
the development of the Rohnert Park Tennis Club. A close friend of Karen’s
recalls her involvement in the PTA at Evergreen Elementary School: blank “I
remember always being impressed with this woman’s involvement and ability
to get things done.” Karen also helped organize the first Project Graduation
at Rancho Cotate High School in 1988 and Cardinal Newman’s in 1990.
blank At
a Novato High School reunion, she was reunited with her high school sweetheart,
Michael Stafford, a widowed father of three children. They began dating and
were married in 1988. Rarely separated, they worked as partners in his veterinary
practice, Township Animal Hospital in Windsor, where Karen was practice manager
for 14 years.
blank Together they took up sailing. “We learned together,” Michael
Stafford recalls, “but it quickly became clear she was the captain.” Over
the years the couple went sailing on San Francisco Bay, in the British Virgin
Islands and in Belize. Her children believe one of her happiest times was
a family sailing cruise on the Sea of Cortez.
blank Michael Stafford stresses, “While ours was a blended family, they
were all her children. All you had to do was cross one of them and you found
that out.” And of course she doted on her six grandchildren. A close
friend commented, “Through all the years Karen has always made her
family the most important aspect of her life. I have marveled at her strength
and compassion, for always being there for her family. Her pride in her extended
family shines from the sparkle in her eyes.”
Karen was nevertheless her own woman. Her family says
she was strong willed and independent. Michael notes, “Her opinions
were seldom changed by the shifting winds of political correctness.”
The couple moved to Bodega Bay in 1992 but continued their veterinary practice. After she was diagnosed with ALS in August 2003, Karen went to work every day, even when she could not walk. “She could have stayed home but she didn’t,” Michael recalls. “For her, it was important to remain productive.” Her last day at work was December 28, 2006. “She wanted to be remembered as someone who had mastered the multiple roles a woman faces: wife, mother, grandmother, working woman and friend,” Michael says.
Karen is survived by her devoted husband of 18 years, Michael Stafford of Bodega Bay; son Gregory Savage of San Mateo, with his wife, Andrea, and baby Francesca; son Christopher Stafford of San Diego, with his wife, Cathleen, and children Jack and Bennett; daughter Lise Stephens of Portland, Oregon, with her husband, Craig, and children Kendyl and Piper; daughter Laurie Park of Reno, Nevada, with her husband, Stephen, and baby Brian; daughter Sarah Stafford and fiancé Dan Grammier of San Diego; brother Charles Lautrup and his wife, Rita, of Auburn; and brother Hank Lautrup and his wife, Barbara, of Rohnert Park.
Friends and family are invited to a gathering to celebrate her life at the Bodega Harbour Yacht Club, 565 Smith Brothers Road, Bodega Bay, at 1:30 p.m., January 20, 2007. Karen’s remains will be spread at sea off Bodega Head.
The family would like to acknowledge the special care given to Karen by the doctors and staff of Windsor Primary Care and the team at the ALS Research and Treatment Center at UCSF.
In lieu of flowers, donations are suggested to Hospice of Petaluma in recognition of service to the family
The
Stafford family walked Karen's ashes to the boat dock Sunday, Jan. 21. 
