Karen Rae Parker

Karen Rae Parker, 71, of Stafford, Virginia passed away on Monday, July 1, 2019.

Karen was born on July 11, 1947 in Fort Benning, Georgia to Maurice Wesley and Aura Charlene Kendall. Being an Army Brat, she lived in multiple places around the world including Japan. She attended Kansas State University, where she received a Bachelor's degree in journalism in 1969, and where she met her husband, Vernon, whom she married on December 22, 1967. They lived in Rhode Island for 16 years and had four children before moving to Virginia in 1985. She worked as a Security Officer at Madison High School in Vienna, Virginia for 17 years until retiring in 2005. Faith, family, friends, and her pups were most important to her. She was an avid dog lover and rescued many dogs in need. True to her personality, a quote assigned to her as a senior in high school was "her laugh contagious, her wit outrageous." Karen made the world a more colorful place and her quick wit and sense of humor will truly be missed.

She is survived by her loving husband of 51 years, Vernon; two sons, Scott and Derek, and two daughters, Amy and Heather; 10 grandchildren; and her brother, Col. John Michael Kendall. Karen was preceded in death by her mother, Aura Charlene Kendall (Gross), and her father, Major General Maurice Wesley Kendall.

The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. on Monday, July 8 at Covenant Funeral Service, Stafford.

A funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, July 9 at Ebenezer United Methodist Church, 161 Embrey Mill Road in Stafford. Interment will follow in Quantico National Cemetery.

A reception to celebrate Karen's life will be held following the burial at Ebenezer United Methodist Church.

If you would like to honor her memory, consider making a donation to the Evelyn D. Reinhart Guest House (reinharthouse.org), or to the Foundation for Women's Cancer (foundationforwomenscancer.org).