Karen Judith Dachille, also known as Suzie, age 76, suddenly passed away in hospice care peacefully on January 30, 2023, at Spectrum Health Meijer Heart Center in Grand Rapids, MI. Loving mother of Jennifer (Michael) Anderson, Jan (Katerina) Pavelek, and Natalie (Mark) Pavelek-Bellman. Proud Mema of Gavin and Cooper Anderson, and Henry Pavelek. Karen is also survived by her brother, John (Cindy) Zeppa, and sister, Lynnette D’Achille Shureb, her nieces, Lea Crook, Emily Liburdi, Amy Crabtree, Lauren and Erica Zeppa, and her loving caregiver, Jordan Gott, along with many other family and friends. Karen is preceded in death by her mother and step-father, Antoinette and Henry Zeppa, her father, Raymond DaChille, and her sister, Christine Liburdi. 

Karen was a gifted watercolor artist during her adult life and had a gift of creating wonderfully meaningful art pieces that she loved sharing with her family and friends. She loved teaching art to others and spent many hours teaching at her children’s school during their younger years. Karen loved animals and over her many years had several pets she loved, both cats and dogs, that she looked forward to seeing in her afterlife. Some of her favorite hobbies included gardening, creating perennial flower beds, reading, cooking delicious Italian food and other food creations, and keeping up with current events. She had a huge heart and was a strong proponent for peace around the world and humanitarian efforts and was passionate about fair treatment for others. Karen loved watching sports, especially her hometown’s baseball, football, and ice hockey teams. She grew up in Detroit, MI, and previously graduated from Osborn High School and took some college courses at Wayne State University. Karen loved spending her younger adult years going to various landmarks and events in Detroit and Hamtramck, MI. Some of her favorite locations to visit with her children and family were the Detroit Institute of Arts, Belle Isle, Bob-Lo Island, and Polish Village. She loved spending time on the water, at the beach, and sailing on the Great Lakes. Karen was passionate about racing sailboats on the Detroit River, Lake Huron, and Lake St. Clair. She is described by her family as an intelligent and witty person, she loved to laugh, loved socializing with family and friends, and enjoyed imparting her knowledge of gardening and cooking to her family. 

Anyone who knew Karen appreciated her dry humor, wit, creativity, and sarcasm. She loved music, especially classic 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s music such as Rod Stewart, Beatles, Cat Stevens, and Paul Simon. Karen’s all-time favorite song is Kodachrome by Paul Simon.

Later in life, Karen developed Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and lived with this disease for the last 20 years of her life. She was a huge supporter of MS research and awareness. Even though she had struggles with MS symptoms she lived a full and independent life. During her last week of life, Karen was faced with making a brave decision to enter hospice care after a medical setback and was able to share her final wishes with her family for comfort and peace.

One of Karen’s final wishes was a summer celebration of life with her family and friends. Details will be shared later.

To honor Karen’s wishes, cremation has taken place. Expressions of sympathy may be shared on Karen’s tribute wall at detroitcremationsociety.com. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in Karen’s memory to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (www.nationalmssociety.org/donate) and Michigan Humane Society (www.michiganhumane.org/tributes).

Karen’s obituary was written by her loving family.