Karen Ruth Dawson Kasulis

Karen Ruth Dawson Kasulis, 56, of Norman, OK, died Sunday, (May 25, 2003) after battling cancer. Karen was born April 15, 1947, in Cambridge, MA, to Florence and the late Lt. Col. Vernon Lee Dawson, of Mansfield. She moved often as a child because of her father's military career. She attended German public and private schools for four years, and graduated from E.O. Smith High High School in 1965. Karen graduated with honors with a bachelor of science degree in mathematics from the University of Connecticut. While at UConn, she received various honors, including Phi Beta Kappa, Pi Mu Epsilon, Phi Kappa Phi, and Alpha Lambda Delta. She was fluent in German and French. After college, Karen taught high school mathematics in New York State while her husband was stationed at West Point, and then worked at the UConn library for two years while her husband attended graduate school there. While he was finishing his degree at Northwestern, she worked in the school's graduate student housing office until the births of her children. In Norman, Karen co-owned "Snacks from Home", providing care packages and messages of love from families to their students attending the University of Oklahoma. As her children grew, she was a substitute teacher in public and private schools, and taught English as a second language to adults. Additionally, she was a cultural consultant for an international firm. Karen was active in charitable and service projects in the Norman community. Her volunteer work included Junior League of Norman, Inc., emphasizing child abuse prevention and education, Girl Scouts, "Food for Friends" soup kitchen, and fundraising for several charities. Karen was active in numerous activities at St. John's Episcopal Church in Norman, including functions pertaining to the annual bazaar, vestment ministry, youth activities, and the fellowship committee. She was Sunday school superintendent for the last several years. Throughout her children's school years, Karen was integrally involved in their school activities as homeroom mother, parental supervisor on field trips, PTA board member, editor for yearbooks, and many other activities. Karen was well-known as a person who was dedicated to making meals for anyone who was ill, or otherwise in need, and for reading to, and helping, elderly friends in various capacities. Karen is survived by her husband of 34 years, Jack Kasulis; children, Kimberly Haggard and her husband, Steve, of Norman, Amy Kasulis and her close friend, Mark Yowell, of Wichita Falls, TX, Scott Kasulis and his wife, Heather, of Edmund, OK, and Mark Kasulis, of the home; granddaughter, Elizabeth Haggard, of Norman; mother, Florence Dawson of Mansfield; sister, Wendy Clifton and her husband, Chuck, of Mansfield; brother, Bruce Dawson, of Silver Spring, MD; numerous nieces and nephews, including Brett Clifton, of Providence, formerly of Mansfield; and six godchildren. Memorial contributions may be made to St. John's Episcopal Church, P.O. Box 2088, Norman, OK 73070, designated for the Karen Kasulis Memorial Fund.