KAREN CARRA

 
Karen Carra  
Karen Carra (54), of Takoma Park, MD died due to complications after a hang gliding accident at a site called High Rock in Cascade, MD on November 8, 2015. She, and her husband of nearly 30 years, had been flying hang gliders for over 20 years. Karen is also a paraglider pilot, SCUBA diver, rock climber, kayaker, skier, sailor, equestrian, polo player, hiker and, in general, a lover of the great outdoors. She summited Kilimanjaro in 2014 with her husband and a group of friends and has travelled throughout the world on a wide variety of adventures, such as SCUBA diving with sharks in the Bahamas, hiking the Inca Tail and horseback riding across Ireland. She grew up and gained her appreciation for nature in Harper's Ferry, WV and earned a BA in Philosophy from Mary Washington College in 1983. Karen danced for numerous local DC area companies during the 1980s and 1990s, which included a tour of Soviet Russia with Saint Mark's Dance Company. She regularly practiced yoga and Pilates- and over the last decade has turned her attention from dance to the aerial arts, such as silks and lyra. She has performed aerial works at the Atlas Theatre and the Shakespeare Theatre Sidney Harman Hall with Airborne! DC. And over the last couple years she has become a regular on the flying trapeze at TSNY DC. A vegetarian, Karen truly loved animals-adopting numerous cats, working on feline rescues, walking dogs at Washington Animal Rescue League and regularly riding her leased horse at Rock Creek Park Horse Center. While her daytime job was in database management, she also occasionally freelanced as a photographer. She has been published in the Washington Post, Washingtonian Magazine and numerous outdoor and travel publications. She will be missed by diverse groups of friends and family from all over this world. She is survived by her husband, Matthew Graham, her mother Twila and her older sister Michele. Her father Joseph Carra passed away at age 82 in 2014. She also leaves her five cats. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation in her name to the Washington Animal Rescue League. Please view and sign the family guest book at www.pumphreyfuneralhome.com Information on a Celebration of Her Life will be updated at this site.