Karen P. (Peterson) Cardoza died after a long journey from her bout with cancer. She was surrounded by her family and friends during this ordeal and felt blessed to be in their company during the last 6 months of her life. Karen was born in Long Beach, California, the youngest of the three children of Ted and and Betty Jo (Williams) Peterson. She graduated from Wilson High School in 1969 and college in Alamosa Colorado in 1971. Karen inherited wonderful traits from both her father and mother, the enthusiasm for life, the sense of adventure and especially connecting with people through the love of communicating on a deep and personal level with everyone she met. Karen has many friends that she has kept in touch with throughout her life and she truly enjoyed connecting with people in everyday life. Her compassion for people, animals and her garden was expressed through her desire and genuine love of nature and people. Her open spirit guided her all through her life and found great joy and happiness to say “I met a new friend today!” Everyone who knew Karen also knew they were treated to a unique, loving person and knew they were receiving that love straight from her heart. She found great joy and pleasure in creating and selling her own jewelry and in craft shows from Vermont to South Carolina. It was more than the sale, it was the excitement of meeting new people and her fellow crafters that she found great pleasure in participating in each venue she attended. Karen and her husband Michael’s family members were a constant source of that love and joy that also provided a communal spiritual connection for Karen. Karen leaves behind her loving husband Michael, her brother Ted and Valeria Peterson, sister Kristine Hale, cousins Mark Wozny and Nancy Karnik, relatives Thomas Cardoza, Tom and Kara Cruz, Kelly and Scott Anderson, Jean and Wilfred Pelitier, her nieces and nephews Piper and husband Jeffery Pope, John Hale and wife Krishel,  Ruvi Karnik, Justin Peterson, Tom and Sarah Pelitier, Jesse and Jon Cardoza, Emma and Mitchell Cruz, Sydney and Sabrina Anderson, Steven and Kathy Campbell, dear friends Maria and Margaret Stack, Lisa Rinaldi, Melissa Brown, Dwight and Jamie Hall, Sydney and Jerry Hursch, Amy and James Heflin, Susan DeGrave, Patrick and Audrey Fay, Elizabeth and Brendan O’Neil and the many family friends of the Cardoza’s, Cruz’s, Anderson’s, Hales and Petersons. We also want to say thanks to the Mercy Hospital and Sr. Caritas Oncology Center for the care she received there.     A celebration of life service will be held at the Byron Keenan Funeral Home & Cremation Tribute Center on Sunday, November 5 at 11am. A gathering will be held at the funeral home from 10am-11am before the service. Burial will be private. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Heifer Intenational, Heifer International, 1 World Ave. Little Rock, AR 72202 or to your local NPR station at: http://www.npr.org/stations/.

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