Karen Ellen Smith passed away unexpectedly on May 17, 2016 in her apartment in Stuart, Florida. Karen was 71 and enjoying life in retirement from her job as a reference librarian in Sacramento, California. She and her friend Dan Hankison also from Stuart had many plans for travels to visit family members and see some of the natural beauties of Alaska.

Karen was born in Collingswood, New Jersey in August of 1944 to father Alvin Frank Smith and mother Mildred Whiteman Hill Smith. Karen's parents both predeceased her; Al in 2001 and Mildred in 2014.

Karen is survived by many who loved her.
Her partner and very close friend
- Dan Hankison, also of Stuart, FL
Her brothers
- Kirk Smith and wife Paula Smith of Ithaca, NY
- Bruce Smith and his wife Michelle Smith of Beaverton, OR.
Her nieces and nephews
Kirk and Paula's children
- Heather Smith and husband Andrew Stehle of Brooklyn, NY with their daughters Lena and Kira
- Samuel Smith and wife Deborah Smith of Ithaca, NY with their daughter Deliah and sons Oscar and Ben.
Bruce and Michelle's children
- Jason Smith of Chicago, IL
- Jamie Staniewicz and husband Ricky Staniewicz of Bothell, WA
- Christy Smolsen and spouse Vicki Smolsen of Jupiter, FL
- Heather Kilcrease and husband Justin Kilcrease of Apex, NC with their daughter Zoe and son Zak
An uncle and an aunt
- Uncle Carl Smith and his wife Anne of Albuquerque, NM and cousins Bill and Wanda
- Aunt Barbara Piccoli of Gibbsboro, NJ and cousins Jack, Jim and Sue

Karen's parents Al and Mildred dated in high school and married in April of 1942. Al then joined the Army Air Corp to help fight in WWII. He trained as a bombardier. Karen was born in August of 1944 just as Al was leaving for Europe with his bomber and crew. He got word to Mildred that his plane would be flying over Collingswood in early September of 1944 and told her to watch for a plane that waggled its wings. Mildred stood outside holding 2 week old Karen at the appointed time and saw Al's plane fly over. Al fortunately returned from the war and the family grew to three with Kirk in 1948 and Bruce in 1954.

After 12 years in south Jersey, Karen moved with the family to Pittsburgh, PA in 1956 when Al took a job with Westinghouse at the Bettis Atomic Power Lab working on nuclear reactor systems for the US Navy, primarily in submarines. The family settled in Bethel Park, a south hills suburb of Pittsburgh. Karen graduated from Bethel Park Senior High School in 1962.

Karen attended the University of Pittsburgh mainly at night and worked during the day. After graduating from Pitt with a BA degree, she moved to Southern California where she earned an MS in library science. Karen then took a job as a reference librarian at the main State of California Library in Sacramento, CA and worked there until she retired. After a couple of years in Albuquerque, NM, she relocated to Stuart, FL where she was closer to long terms friends Dan, Ann Pennington of Boynton Beach, FL and Joyce Sugar of Coconut Creek, FL

Karen had a wonderful second floor apartment in Stuart with an airy two-sided screen porch. She loved to walk in the morning over to a park on the inter-coastal waterway. She loved labyrinths and she liked to walk one in San Francisco near Sacramento where she used to live. Kirk and Karen visited a labyrinth at St. Paul's United Methodist Church in Ithaca, NY a year ago or so. Some time ago she and Kirk also walked one cut in grass someplace east of Ithaca. Meditation was important to her spirituality and she attended a regular meditation group on Saturdays at St. Luke's Episcopal Church near her apartment in Stuart. Karen volunteered in Stuart with the Library of the Elliot Museum. Karen was a life-long learner and took classes at the Florida Atlantic University and the Blake Library. She also took educational trips with Road Scholars.

Karen also was happy to be near Jupiter FL since our great, great grandfather Walter Wolfkiel of Camden, NJ helped to build the lighthouse there in 1860. At that time, the settlements along the Florida coast were many 10's of miles apart. Fort Lauderdale was the closest to the South then Keys Largo and West and to the North the closest was Indian River Inlet. When asked if he wanted to buy some land around Jupiter he supposedly replied "Who would want to live in a swamp like this?" So Walter went back to Camden when his work was completed.

-Robert Kirkland Smith, May 2016