Karen Patrice Skelton passed peacefully in her sleep on Tuesday afternoon, October 28, 2025 at Mt. Greylock in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.

She was born to the late Roy and Jean Skelton on February 23, 1947 in Flint, Michigan. She graduated from Plymouth High School in 1965 in Plymouth, Wisconsin, and later pursued studies in design at the University of Wisconsin. Then, she developed this creative "bug" after she walked in a pottery studio where she took classes. That's how she and partner Richard Siegel began the most daring business adventure. Soon, they had restored an old barn in the Hamptons to create her pottery. Then Potluck Studios was born. As time went by, Karen developed other interests and became proprietor, graphic designer, and art director at Karen Skelton Design, and also held positions at Potluck Studios, Bellwether Design, Gear Design, and Milton Glasser. Recently, she was a Partner and Creative Director at LookWriteNow.

Karen is survived by her brother Phillip and sister-in-law Annamaria, her best friends especially Philip Johnson and Thomas Jensen, who checked on her periodically.

She's preceded in death by her husband, Richard Siegel on March 19, 2004.

In accordance with Karen's wishes there will be no services.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Alzheimer's Association c/o Finnerty & Stevens Funeral Home, 426 Main Street, Great Barrington, MA 01230. To send remembrances to her family, please go to www.finnertyandstevens.com

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by The Berkshire Eagle on Nov. 4, 2025.

Memories and Condolences
for Karen Skelton

Sponsored by The Berkshire Eagle.

2 Entries

Phil Johnson

November 11, 2025

Here is a history of how Karen and I met and shared our lives.

In 2006 Karen and I both volunteered at our local community radio station in Great Barrington, WBCR-LP, FM. Karen did the graphic design for the station logo and the marketing materials, and I hosted a weekly radio show featuring spoken word and music. Karen and I met when we were both promoting the station.

We became friends who had similar interests, and then we started a relationship. In 2009 we began living together. We started a business featuring Karen´s design work and my writing and editorial skills.

Karen and I lived and worked together in Great Barrington for seven years. We took weekend trips to New York City, where we went to galleries and museums and musical events.

In the summers Karen rented her house in the Berkshires and we traveled across the country together. We went to the West Coast, where I introduced Karen to my friends and family members. We also traveled to the Midwest, including the town where Karen grew up and had gone to high school in Wisconsin. We visited the University of Wisconsin at Madison, where Karen had attended college.

During that time we were unable to find a way for Karen to move to California permanently and live there with me. She got freelance work periodically, but couldn´t find a permanent job. And she still owned her house in the Berkshires, which she didn't want to sell.

Ultimately in 2016, as I aged, I had to leave Massachusetts to return to California to be with my family, so they could take care of me. (I´m eight years older than Karen; I´m 86 now.)
I phoned Karen every day of the week from where I live in San Jose, CA, touching base to make sure she was okay. But around 2017 she began to experience short-term memory problems-I tried to help her, long distance, by referring her to medical resources in the Berkshires.
It became unsafe for Karen to live alone in Great Barrington. One day I was informed that she couldn´t remember which coffee shop she had left her purse in, and she kept returning to the police station to report this. The police took her to the ER at Fairview Hospital; from there she was transferred to Berkshire Medical Center, where a medical team examined her and diagnosed her as having dementia. At that point I applied and was appointed by the court to become her guardian.
As Karen's memory worsened and she became increasingly disoriented, the staff at BMC recommended that she should be transferred to an assisted living facility. I arranged to have her admitted to Wingate Residences at Melbourne Place. As time passed and I was told she needed addition care and supervision, I had her admitted to Mount Greylock Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation.

I hope this narrative is helpful to document my relationship with Karen during her life.
Best regards,
Phil Johnson

Mary Bauman

November 5, 2025

So sorry to hear of Karen´s passing. We used to get together and talk about graphic design projects, years ago. I was always blown away by her artistic talent in many fields, her wit, and her interior design taste. We lost touch but I was thinking about her the other day, maybe it was a message from her. She will always be an inspiration. My deepest condolences to her family and friends.

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