Karen Sue Garcia

In true Karen fashion, she composed her own obituary but we, Paula and Wendy, thought she deserved a little better send off. We hope she doesn’t mind. Karen was born in Denver, Colorado and spent her childhood in northeastern Colorado before settling on the western slope in the mid 70’s. Throughout her life, Karen worked in a variety of jobs; waitressing, factory work, owned her own cleaning business and ended her career working as a taxi driver and dispatcher, which she absolutely loved. She also spent her later years spending time with her youngest grandson, while his parents worked, which kept her young. Karen often said, she wished she could have done this with all of her grandchildren. Karen was a humble woman who loved her family and friends deeply and without judgement. For those that knew her best, also know how witty she was! She loved a good joke and wasn’t opposed to a good prank every now and then. She raised her two daughters mostly on her own, teaching them to be strong, independent women, just like herself. The one thing that is most remembered and appreciated by her daughters, is that Karen always showed up and was present for activities, sports, and special events; she was always there. She loved her grandsons more than life itself. When they were younger, she would take them on drives to get honey sticks. As they all grew and spread out across the country, she looked forward to their phone calls and especially enjoyed kicking Trey’s ass in cards when he would come to visit. Karen made friendships that lasted more than 4 decades. One of her greatest joys was getting together once a month with her special friends; Erlinda, Diane, Charlotte, Charla and Rosie. She kept everyone informed of when it was “Girls Night Out” and then spent the next few days after sharing everything they laughed about. Karen loved these women as well and more than likely, will drop in on them from time to time because she hated missing out on their time together. Karen also had numerous other friendships and no matter how much time had passed, she could pick up right where she left off with all of them.  Karen is survived by her two beloved daughters; Wendy Perez of Laramie, WY, Paula Garcia-Gurule of Grand Junction, CO. Her favorite son in law, Laurence Gurule of Grand Junction, CO. Four grandsons and one grand daughter: Trey Garcia of Denver, CO, Chance Jones of Miles City, MT, Chase Jones of Laramie, WY, Josiah Garcia-Gurule of Grand Junction, CO and Kristianne Toscano of New York. Finally, she is also survived by her most special grand kitties and doggos; Bentley, Emma, Dudley and Ana and once she made it to heaven was probably met by Atar,Jack the big brown dog, Nemo and Elsa. If so inclined, the family would ask that any donations be made to Wounded Warriors, St. Jude or The Joseph Center, all organizations that were dear to Karen’s heart. A celebration of life for Karen will be held sometime next year and her ashes will be spread by her family in private.