Karen is a great-grandmother and the mother of three children, including two of her own and one stepdaughter. Despite not taking on the role of “Mom,” she saw herself as Mom 2 after her stepdaughter’s mother passed away. Her children are scattered across Northern California, with her grandchildren residing in the South Bay, Placerville, Windsor, and one in Santa Rosa. One grandchild recently graduated from Sonoma State, while another is set to graduate from the SRJC in the spring. Two grandchildren attend Windsor High School, where they are passionate about club soccer. Her great-grandchild, who will turn two in early 2024, also lives in Windsor, and her parents plan to enroll her in a school that offers Spanish as part of their diverse communication curriculum. The child is already learning sign language, and her grandparents speak Khmer. She finds immense joy in being surrounded by these beautiful children, many of whom have chosen to remain in Sonoma County.
Her days are spent with BE, (Brown Eye), a 7-pound, 3-year-old Chihuahua mix. BE entered her life unexpectedly, and although she initially had reservations about owning such a small dog, BE quickly captured her heart and became one of the best dogs she has ever had. BE is able to keep up with her on long walks or hikes, but also knows how to sit quietly on her lap while she works on her computer. Regardless of the activities of the day, BE is content to be by her side. BE can even be found on a mural downtown, created by local artist and graphic designer Joey Manfre, which features various local dogs.
Having been born and raised in Sonoma County, Karen has deep roots in the area. After attending elementary school, she went on to Slater Junior High and eventually graduated from Montgomery High School. She then pursued a Medical Assisting Program in Sacramento, completing it in two years at SRJC. Later on, she returned to school to obtain her Real Estate License- and again to get her Brokers License. She retired from Real Estate in 2017. Most of Karen’s early childhood was in Bennett Valley. She first moved to Windsor in 1966, when her dad leased a ranch on Starr Rd. A few months later he purchased it. They retired from Real Estate in 2017. Most of their early childhood was spent in Bennett Valley. They first moved to Windsor in 1966, when their dad leased a ranch on Starr Rd. A few months later, their dad purchased it.
A fun fact about the ranch: Karen’s dad sold it in 1994, and the ranch eventually came under the ownership of Darlene Walley. Darlene formed a partnership with the Windsor High School Vineyard Academy. The students, along with Barney Kaufman, manage the century-old plus Zinfandel vines, taking the grapes to Taft Street Winery, where the juice is aged, bottled, and labeled as Jaguar Wine. Each bottle sold raises funds for Vineyard Academy to support their scholarship programs. Every now and then, Barney invites Karen to come work in the vineyard, which immediately takes her back to the years when she helped her dad pick grapes. The part she enjoyed the most back then was eating the grapes that were warmed by the afternoon sun. The flavor and sugar would be at their peak, and even though she was a teenager, she could appreciate the importance of those two characteristics of the fruit.
For a time, Karen lived on Bell Rd next door to her mom, moved to Santa Rosa, and in 1988 bought a house in the Foothills HOA. In 2000, she met Orrin Thiessen, the designer and developer of the Town Green Village. After one meeting with him, she knew she wanted to be a part of the downtown dream! In 2001, she took a check to his construction trailer to get her name on a condo – site unseen. All Karen knew was that she wanted to be downtown one way or another. Karen has seen a lot of changes in Windsor since 1966. Some she likes and some she doesn’t, but regardless, when she steps back and looks at the community as a whole, she loves Windsor.
Karen enjoys living on the east side of Windsor for the Regional Parks, community parks, and safe walking trails along the creeks. Her neighbors are more than friends, some are like family. Two of her grandchildren are just a few doors down from her. It’s a special thing being able to walk to Wise Acre Farm and buy fresh eggs from a vending machine, or walk to Gary Blasi’s ranch, where she can buy local produce. She also loves being downtown on the Town Green, where there are shops, the Farmers Market, restaurants, and a different group of friends with different interests. Her life in Windsor is full, happy, and rewarding, she can’t imagine being anywhere else.
One interest she has is food preparation, especially the purchasing of quality produce and imagining what she wants to cook, then visiting the Farmer’s Markets, farms, or Oliver’s to fill her vision with good quality. This appreciation comes from both her mom’s and her dad’s families who were farmers or restaurant owners in Europe. Her genetics come from Switzerland and Italy, with a little bit of Iberian Peninsula. In the last two years, she visited Spain and Switzerland. Both trips helped her to connect with her ancestors, and it truly hit her while she watched the sunrise on the Alps surrounding the Engadin Valley.
Standing in Switzerland, she was truly where she came from in a deeper sense. She can’t wait to return to follow her DNA trail even further.
Swimming and Kayaking are two of Karen’s favorite relaxation activities. Her favorite kayaking locations are Richardson Bay, Bolinas Lagoon, Monterey Bay, and the American River in the spring.
When her children were growing up, they enjoyed camping, rough camping, not the glamping kind of camping. They would boat in, with wood, food, ice chests, water, and tents. She’s a second-generation water skier, learning at Memorial Beach in Healdsburg in the 1950s when the river was deeper. Her children skied with her until they could manage skis on their own. Now that she’s older, she likes renting a home in Bolinas. Bolinas is a nice trip into the 1960s, the people are chill and no-frills, far different than the rest of Marin County. Besides the kayaking, ocean, wildlife, cheese producers, farmers, and seafood vendors in that area are some of the best in the world and only an hour’s drive from home.
A fun fact about her is that she enjoys creating ideas and seeing them through to completion. In 2020, during the pandemic, she made the decision to revamp a 75-page family cookbook she had originally created for the Millennium in 2000. She dedicated months to writing, searching for pictures, conducting family history research, and interviewing relatives. By the time the pandemic came to an end, the cookbook had grown to a whopping 180 pages! As she finished publishing the book, she couldn’t help but reflect on how quickly that year had passed. The opportunity to work on the book came at the perfect time for her to retreat and focus solely on writing and creating.
Karen enjoys coming up with ideas that help to build community and a sense of place. Some of the projects she has been a part of include:
- The Charlie Brown Christmas Tree Grove – The event was founded by her in 2008, and the first event took off in 2009 with 44 trees. She retired from the project and turned it over to People4Parks, which continues to organize and supervise the event with 210 trees each year in Windsor.
- The Public Art Mural Project (A Community Healing-Happening Project) – She worked with local artists and property owners to install three murals downtown, with plans for six more and eventually seven. Most of the artists involved are students at local art schools or private schools in Sonoma County. Additionally, two artists live and work in the Town Green Village, and three artists represent the local California Pomo community.
- The Windsor Town Green Military Memorial Wall – A project of the Windsor Historical Society, had been a 21-year aspiration on Karen’s dad’s bucket list. She was tasked with fulfilling this wish, and her first choice for a partner was Steve Lehmann, the President of the Windsor Historical Society. Little did she know, Steve had already been working on compiling names for a future memorial. Their collaboration was meant to be. Their primary objective was to pay tribute to the brave men who lost their lives while serving our country in the skies above Sonoma County, as well as those connected to Windsor who perished in recognized conflicts. Steve meticulously researched each name that would be engraved on the wall. The community came together to raise funds and contribute to the construction, showcasing the best of their collective spirit. The monument’s design process began in 2020, with the first fundraising efforts taking place in 2021. Finally, in 2023, the monument was completed and unveiled to the community on November 4th. Its presence has added a touch of beauty to Windsor and serves as a testament to the local history. Both Steve and Karen are thrilled that their vision and goals have been realized, and they take pride in this magnificent project that now resides in the heart of Windsor.
- Establishing a Windsor Heritage Tree Ordinance (Town of Windsor-2000) – Working with the Town of Windsor and following Sonoma County’s ordinance, the first Heritage Tree located at the Foothill Community Park in the Foothills HOA was protected (Bay Tree). The second group of Heritage Trees, the Cypress Grove (now diminished in numbers due to age), is located along Foxwood Drive near the Windsor Museum.
Many know Karen as a long-time WE Foundation Board Member and fundraiser for their Scholarship Program, as well as the organizer of the Scarecrow Days. She has retired from the WE Foundation Board, but her interest in the students will never diminish.
Karen has had a rewarding life, but that isn’t to say that she has not had struggles and pain along the way. A saying she often refers to, and relates to, is “Bloom Where You Are Planted,” which even one of her grandchildren has as a tattoo that reads “Bloom Where You Are Planted”. No matter how rough a situation is, never stop growing and blooming, and try to take as many along with you as you can on that journey of “Blooming”.
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