Karen Winter

Karen Leslie (Weingartner) Cox Winter (March 12, 1943 - November 1, 2024)

Karen is survived by her children, R. Andrew Cox (Kimberly) Ryan C. and Sydney V.; Virginia E. Gentzen (Shane) Brooke Karen and Jake P.; her husband Kenneth R. Winter; her sister Susan Virginia Elko (Alan); a stepdaughter Kimberly (Roger) Isabel; nephews, Jeffrey and William Sinkinson, great nephews and a great niece and many cousins.

Karen attended North Wales Elementary School in North Wales PA, then graduated from North Penn High School in Lansdale, Class of 1961. She then went on to Centenary College for Women in Hackettstown NJ and graduated with an AA degree in 1963.

After graduating from Centenary, Karen started her career as a secretary at Lybrand, Ross Brothers and Montgomery in Philadelphia. She then took a leave to travel in Europe on a grand tour with friends. She returned home from Europe and secured a prestigious position with C. Brewster Rhoads at Montgomery, McCracken, Walker and Rhoads again in center city Philadelphia. In 1968 she married Rexford Cox and took a leave for the births of her two children Andrew and Ginna whom she adored until she took her last breath. Karen and Rex divorced and she returned to a new career as an Administrative Assistant at Merck and Co., Inc. in West Point which she held for many years with great pride. In 1985 she married Ken Winter and moved with her children from her lifelong home in North Wales to Point Pleasant, NJ. For a time she commuted to Merck in Rahway and worked there, then became the secretary of Point Pleasant Beach High School where she loved the students, parents, and staff and they loved her in return.

The Weingartner family actively worshipped at St. Luke's United Church of Christ in North Wales, and Karen continued that tradition with Andrew and Ginna until they moved to Point Pleasant. In New Jersey Ken and Karen worshipped at Point Pleasant Presbyterian Church and later at Bayhead Chapel during the summers when they spent significant time on Ken's boat in Georgia and Florida.

Karen was always the shining star in any room, a beautiful girl whose natural beauty shone from her pure heart and radiated out to everyone she touched. In addition to her compassion and kindness, she was playful and irreverent and she made everyone laugh and smile. She loved to play jokes and games at her annual Bayleave Bash at the family home on Long Beach Island which was a highlight of the year for all who came to play! Another Karen hallmark was that she sent hundreds of cards annually to everyone she knew to celebrate big occasions, small occasions, to lend support or to send an outrageous card that she knew would make you laugh. She may have been the originator of LOL! She also was adored for the clever monogrammed cocktail napkins she dreamed up and brought to special occasions. Some of her rhymes continue to charm/haunt us decades after the events. Her signature printing, unique to Karen only, will always live in the memories of anyone who received one of her cards addressed with that special script or sat at a table with a place card penned by Karen.

In 2005 it became evident that Karen was experiencing signs of dementia and her family and friends were deeply saddened to learn she had Alzheimer's Disease. The progressive toll of this dreadful disease on Karen has been long and difficult. She has survived many medical challenges in addition to Alzheimer's for much longer than anyone would have predicted. She passed peacefully on November 1, 2024, with her son Andrew by her side. In true Karen mode, she remained gracious and smiling while an advanced Alzheimer's patient in both Memory Care and Skilled Nursing despite her numerous challenges. Karen's family is very grateful to Sunnyside Manor in New Jersey for the truly excellent care and compassion they have given her during her stay there for the past eight years, as well as Hospice Care over the last several years.

A celebration of her life will take place on Saturday, November 16th at noon at the Bayhead Chapel, followed by a luncheon at the Off Shore in Point Pleasant Beach.

Contributions may be made in Karen's honor to The Alzheimer's Association and Homeside Hospice.