Karen Ingalls Epstein

Karen Ingalls Epstein, beloved wife, mother, and grandmother, remarkable artist and humorist, award-winning advertising copywriter, and direct descendant of Edmund Ingalls, founder of Lynn, Massachusetts, died of a cerebral hemorrhage while recovering from an acute illness in Boston on June 28, 2024. She was 84.

Karen was born in Washington, DC, on May 5, 1940, to Curtis Ingalls, a South Dakota native and ink and paper chemist, and Aune (Waisanen) Ingalls, a Michigan-born teacher. The family moved to Fairport, NY, in 1952, when her father was recruited from the Government Printing Office to the Burroughs Corporation in Rochester.

Karen received her BA from Wooster College and an MA in American History from Case Western Reserve University. She married her first husband after college and taught American History in the Cleveland suburbs. While she loved teaching middle school, she was driven by her need for a creative career. She literally closed the book on her Cleveland life after reading the first entry in the school library's Catalog of Careers--Advertising--and courageously moved to Boston.

Karen inherited her daring spirit from her 10th great-grandfather, Edmund Ingalls, who emigrated from Lincolnshire, England to Salem, Massachusetts, in 1628, and was a founder of Lynn, Massachusetts. Edmund ran a malt house, relishing both the craft and its product, once earning a fine for gathering firewood on the Sabbath. His descendants include both Martha Carrier, a resolute victim of the Salem Witch Trials, and Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of the "Little House" stories. Karen often remarked that she, too, would have been condemned in Salem for authentically speaking her mind.

Having no background in advertising, she made two creative introductions. First, she xeroxed her foot and sent it with a letter to all Advertising Creative Directors in Boston with a note: "Take a close look at this foot. It will soon be in your door." Then she wrote dozens of drafts of a letter of introduction explaining why a Creative Director would hire someone with no background in advertising. She crumpled each failed attempt. A creative light bulb went on. She gathered all the drafts into a bag and brought them to her first interview. She put it on her interviewer's desk and explained what it contained. She was hired that day as a copy assistant at Humphrey Browning & MacDougal. Her creative career was launched.

She moved to Denver in June 1973 with her fiancé, Dr. Andrew Epstein, who was in residency training at University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. They married in February 1974. She worked for Gabel Advertising and Tracy-Locke in Denver in the 1970s and later worked at Robinson Associates, Patrick Nugent, and Cabot Advertising in Boston in the 1980s and '90s. Her work focused on consumer products and services, including The Vail Corporation and Mastercard, where she wrote her first award-winning copy, "Mastercard, another kind of money," designed to help consumers understand what the credit card was and how to use it. It was 1974! Her Boston accounts included The Boston Symphony Orchestra, Field Corporation, Smartfood, and pet products. Her hilarious copy was written for television, radio, and print. She loved working collaboratively with her art directors. She became a creative VP and won national and regional awards, including a Clio and many Hatch, One Show, and local awards.

Karen and Andrew had one son, Eli, in 1977 and enjoyed an idyllic family life in Newton, MA. The family was very close and full of humor and fun. She always said, "We are the lucky ones." She also had very close relationships with both her own and Andy's extended families. When Eli moved to LA, they spoke daily, laughing about some absurdity or outrage. She retired in the 1990s and began a serious career in painting, studying watercolor for a decade with Joel Janowitz. Her work hangs in many private homes and was shown in group shows. She was also known for her ink drawings and cartoons, throwing off a "New Yorker cartoon" most weeks, though sadly never submitted or published. Her humor was smart, sharp, and incisive, but never cruel. She was known for her kindness and interest in others.

Karen and Andy fell in love with the Southwest when they lived in Denver and purchased a Santa Fe home in 2002. She enjoyed the Santa Fe Opera, Chamber Music Festival, contemporary arts, ceramics and bamboo art, folk and tribal art, and most especially, as a painter, the quality of light.

They also traveled extensively, beginning with a year-long honeymoon trip around the world in 1975-76. Her discount shopping career was launched at the original Filene's Basement. She loved home design and renovation, elegant clothing and fine art jewelry, dining out, dancing, and hosting black tie New Year's Eve parties. She was equally at home with what she called "the luxury of the ordinary." And let's not forget her signature eyeglasses!

Karen was as passionate about justice as she was about humor and kindness. An avid fan of crime dramas and novels by Michael Connelly, Robert Parker, Carl Hiasson, and Jussi Adler-Olsen, she supported The Innocence Project, where donations can be made in her memory. Justice must be served.

She is survived by her husband and best friend, Dr. Andrew Epstein, of Newton, MA, and Santa Fe, NM, with whom she celebrated their 50th anniversary in February; her beloved son, Eli Epstein, daughter-in-law, Maren McGuire, grandson, Eero Echo Epstein, just born in January, 2024 of Los Angeles; and two sisters, Janet Burchett of Springfield, NJ and Lake St. Catherine, VT, and Lisa Snowden of Fairport, NY. She was also a beloved sister-in-law and Aunt Karen to many nieces and nephews. Services were private.

She showed us by example how to live fully, to love family and friends, and to have fun, reminding us, "We're just ants on a sidewalk."