Family and friends are remembering Karen Tomisser, and sharing this remembrance with her community:

Karen Tomisser left us on June 28, 2022, unexpectedly and much too soon, following a short but hard-fought battle with cancer.

Karen lived a full life of 64 years showing her love, compassion, and generosity and her zest for life. She leaves behind 3 sisters, one of which was her twin sister, a brother, a brother-in-law, a sister-in-law, and many nieces, nephews, cousins, and many wonderful friends. Preceded in death were her parents, Edward and Maxine Tomisser, and a sister, Janice Tomisser. She will be missed by all and left a great legacy of love and support to all she knew. Karen also knew it was not the destination that counts but the journey.

Karen grew up in West Seattle, where she lived for over 60 years. She attended Jefferson Elementary, Madison Middle School, and upon graduating from West Seattle High School, she began her lifetime adventures. Karen always was young at heart. After high school, Karen found her niche working in the Kitchen and Bath Industry for Ross Display and Fixture Company for over 25 years. She enjoyed working with her clients to create and remodel dream kitchens and bathrooms for their homes. Desiring a change and new opportunity, Karen began a 7-year career in the grocery chain industry with Safeway, where she made an impact with all her customers and fellow colleagues. She loved many things but more than anything she loved people. Always willing to listen, she connected with people from all walks of life with working with her colleagues as well as friends and of course her family.

Karen had many interests. One of her favorites, when not sharing time with her sisters or nieces and nephews as they were growing up, was her ardent support always as a Seattle sports fan. The Mariners, Seahawks, and Huskies were her favorites year-round. Once her niece became a Gonzaga student and alumni, she had to add the Zags basketball too. She loved taking her nieces and nephews to The Mariners and arriving early for the jerseys and bobbleheads always available to the kids on special-occasion games. She followed all her favorite teams with lots of cheering and enthusiasm, especially the year the Seahawks won the Super Bowl!

Karen had a very strong work ethic and when she had time off, she always looked forward to planning an adventure to experience. She took many vacations to Hawaii, a trip to Europe, many Disney adventures, and always a summer excursion to enjoy the beauty of the Oregon Coast. She loved road trips exploring her native Washington State, visiting small towns looking for a unique cafe, bakery, or coffee shop. Traveling was a big enjoyment in Karen’s life as well as combining it with her interest in pop music; she enjoyed attending many concerts of her day with a few live concerts to see Elton John and taking her niece even to Las Vegas to attend a Celine Dion concert. She loved the classic ’70s pop era of music. She always shared her loved interest of many ’70s-era music with younger generations as she did not want them to miss out on some of the best years of good music she cherished. She also loved classic movies and had a fun time introducing them to her nieces to show them what life was like for past teenage generations and had a good laugh with them watching American Graffiti, What’s Up Doc, and when younger shared many Disney favorite films. She was always up on the latest trends keeping her always young at heart and one of the fun aunts to spend time with as she always knew the music of each generation as well as the new styles, loved attending Whirligig and other art exhibits, and festivals in the city and around Washington State. She loved her pets and animals in life and especially inherited her Mom’s love of Boston Bull Terriers. From taking her first baking class at West Seattle High School, cooking and baking were a favorite past time and she always enjoyed searching for new recipes first from all kinds of classes to eventually all the new recipes available on the internet. The holidays were always a great time to celebrate. She would have traditional family recipes and had a good time searching for new recipes to try. She absolutely loved her community of West Seattle, always enjoying reuniting with friends at high school reunions, partaking in Hi-Yu events, hopping on a Ferry boat, and the many times walking on Alki Beach and taking in the beautiful sunsets at Alki and lights of the city.

Karen will be missed by so many. The Tomisser Family wishes to thank the Swedish Oncology and Hospice Team in Seattle who cared for her during her final days. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the American Cancer Society @ www.cancer.org.

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