Ms. Karen English's Obituary
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Karen Louise English passed away peacefully at Alive Hospice at the age of 75, after a quick but yet mounting battle with dementia. She was born in June 1945 in Rochester, NY to Alice and Ozzie Ullrich, and raised with 3 younger sisters in Worthington (Columbus), OH. She graduated from Whetstone High School in 1963, married Sam English in August 1971, and moved with their beloved daughter Emily to Nashville, TN in 1982. She spent the majority of her life in TN with her 2nd husband, Bill Smith (who precedes her in death), and shared her last years with her partner, Howard Melton, and cherished dog Mopsey.
Karen loved butterflies, birds, gardening, Josh Groban, pottery, giraffes, Animal Planet, and chocolate. She was incredibly strong-willed, enjoyed silliness and honesty, talked to strangers as if she’d known them for years, was drawn to civil rights, and was always interested in others’ histories and opinions, wanting to understand and help as much as she could.
She loved her job as a lab technician at the Tennessee Department of Health, testing water quality across the state for 20+ years. She also enjoyed working as a lifeguard at the local YMCA for several years, where her interest in water quality continued as she proudly monitored pool water chemistry.
Karen is survived by her daughter, Emily; partner, Howard Melton; sisters, Mona Hett and Susan Salling; niece, Pam Salling; and nephew and wife, Mike and Heather Salling. She is preceded in death by husband, Bill Smith; sister, Barbara Jo Ullrich; and mother and father, Alice and Osmar (Ozzie) Ullrich.
Visitation will be held Monday, August 3, 2020 at Spring Hill Funeral Home and Cemetery at 5110 Gallatin Road, Nashville, TN 37216 from 9-10 AM. Funeral service will be held immediately following at 10 AM in the Spring Hill Funeral Home Chapel.
Per CDC as well as State and Local guidelines, masks will be required for all visitors.
In lieu of flowers and to honor her love for dogs, donations may be made to the Nashville Humane Association at nashvillehumane.org.
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