Obituary: Karen Anne Kuehnis
– September 30, 2021
Karen Anne Kuehnis, both a San Jose, and longtime Incline Village, NV resident passed away on September 30th, 2021 at the age of 79 after enduring a 7 month battle with progressive ALS. She was surrounded by close friends and family that loved her, keeping her comfortable and anxiety-free. Even though this disease took her away from this world, she will always be remembered as a caring wife, mother, grandmother, sister, friend, and a devoted volunteer of her community.
Karen grew up in Southern California. After graduating from high school, Karen moved to San Jose, California following her dreams of becoming a nurse. She graduated from O’Connors Nursing School with other strong women who became life-long friends. She also met her husband, Floyd Kuehnis, whom she was happily married to for 50 years. Together they had 2 daughters: Kelly and Stacy.
Floyd’s job with KPMG took Karen and their young daughters from San Jose to Los Angeles, New York, and back to San Jose where they settled into Los Gatos for 11 years. After their daughters were grown, Floyd’s job took Karen to Minneapolis for 10 years. After retirement, they chose to settle in beautiful Lake Tahoe where Karen joyously spent the next 25 years. Karen moved back to San Jose in 2020 to be closer to family. Over the 25 years in Lake Tahoe, Nevada she enjoyed many activities including golfing, hiking, playing bridge, and she passionately spent hundreds of hours volunteering.
Karen never said no to those in need. She was devoted to her volunteer work and serving her community. She confidently orchestrated successful fundraising events – from large Christmas extravaganzas and golf tournaments to community garage sales and silent auctions. She volunteered to write the newsletters and was an active member of many organizations including the Children’s Cabinet, Pet Network, Local Hospital Auxiliary, Republican Women’s Group, Incline Village Golf Club, Bridge club, and Tahoe Trampers.
She is survived by her two daughters and sons-in-law, Kelly & Tim and Stacy & Matt, her two grandsons Miles & Nelson, her sibling Jon Warnick, and her two loving dachshunds Annie & Lucy, now living happily at Stacy’s. She will be missed very much and never forgotten.
A Celebration of Life is scheduled for Friday, October 29th in Los Gatos, California. Please contact her daughter, Stacy Kuehnis, for more details if you wish to attend. skuehnis1@gmail.com
In lieu of flowers, please donate to the UCSF – ALS Center where she received the best care possible medical care.
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