Wallace, Karen Elizabeth

Karen Elizabeth Wallace, 67, of Manchester died Monday, Nov. 30, 2009, at home following an extended illness. Funeral Services: 5:30 p.m., Thursday at the First Presbyterian Church in Manchester, by the Revs. Mike Manaugh and Gary Keast. Family will greet friends from 3 to 7 p.m., Wednesday at the Bohnenkamp-Murdoch Funeral Home & Cremation Service. Private family burial at Oakland Cemetery, Manchester.

Karen was born May 18, 1942, in Cedar Rapids, the daughter of Stan and Ruth (Wilson) Klaus. She experienced a wonderful and happy childhood in Manchester, graduating from West Delaware High School with the class of 1960. Karen graduated from Cornell College in Mount Vernon in 1964, with majors in French, education and psychology. In the Fall of 1964, she began teaching French in the Chicago suburb of Palatine, Ill. She returned to Manchester in 1967 to be with her parents when her mother suffered a stroke. In the Fall of 1968, she began a 34 year teaching career at St. Mary's School in Manchester. This brought more joy than it is possible to describe to Karen. On May 24, 1984, Karen was united in marriage to William D. Wallace at the First Presbyterian Church in Manchester. They continued to live in Manchester, enjoying their cabin at Lake Delhi and many adventures in Europe together.

Karen's passions included children, teaching, and the furry members of her family, kittens Sophie and Margaret and her alpaca, Hairy Potter. She enjoyed her garden, photography, knitting, history, research, writing, learning interesting things from grandchildren and weekly conversations with the residents of the Good Neighbor Home and the Meadows Assisted Living.

Karen was a member of Questers, P.E.O., and Audubon Society. She was past president of the Manchester Library Board, Delaware County chair during the 1996 Iowa Sesquicentennial, and director of Circle of the Arts.

Karen is survived by her husband, Bill Wallace of Manchester; his children, Dana, of Waterloo, and her daughter, Sarah, of Colorado Springs, Colo., and David (Lori) Wallace and their children, Burke, Jack, Daniel, and Allison of Waverly. She also leaves behind eight first cousins and many, many dear friends of all ages.

Karen was preceded in death by her parents, Stan and Ruth Klaus; aunts, uncles, and cousins.

Memorials may be made in Karen's memory to St. Mary's School in Manchester, First Presbyterian Church, or the Delaware County Historical Society.

Please sign the online guest book for Karen at under obituaries.