Karen Kowal

Karen Kowal was born on August 5, 1956, in Manhattan, New York City. She passed away peacefully at home on March 28, 2026, surrounded by loving family and friends.

Karen is survived by her cousins: Kathy (Rick) Buskey, Noelle (Joe) Cuti, Dennis (Corinne) Sadowsky, Leonard (Zelesha) Sadowsky, their children and grandchildren. She is also survived by her stepson, Matthew Thompson, his wife Kristen and grandchildren: Kevin, Mason, Jackson and Charlotte as well as numerous friends and family members who so generously took time to spend with and care for her during her battle with cancer.

Karen worked as a pediatric Physician’s Assistant for 46 years, initially in Connecticut and then Pennsylvania and Delaware. She was also a certified diabetic educator. The most rewarding part of her career was in the realm of pediatric research working with children with chromosomal abnormalities and their families.

She was also part of the Drexel University Co-Op program mentoring and supervising numerous students. They viewed her as their “second mom”. She taught them the value of compassion and caring for all people, especially those less fortunate, qualities so sorely absent from medicine today.

There will be a memorial service at St. Alphonsus Church in Hopewell, NJ. If you would like to be notified, once the date has been selected, please contact: [email protected].

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Karen’s memory to:
- Food Bank of South Jersey, or
- Catholic Charities.