Karen Lynne (Litke) Hathaway, 58 of Mesa, AZ passed-away on April 28, 2020 from a long illness.
Karen was born in Hollywood, CA, living in the Southern CA area until age 9. At which time her family moved to Merced, CA where she lived out the remainder of her youth. During that time, she enjoyed being in Drama, FFA, cruising Main Street, and attending Saturday night dances at Buhach Hall with her sister and friends. She was part of a small theater group in Jamestown, CA where she really shined taking the stage and living out one her many dreams. Karen Moved to Albuquerque, NM in 1996 where she met the love of her life “Buddy” Ernest Hathaway. She became a Farmers Insurance Agent running a successful office for several years. They then moved to Mesa, AZ giving up her practice to become a stay at home mom to raise their children.
Karen and her family joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and enjoyed being a part of the fellowship and making many new and good friends.
Karen became ill in 2003 but stayed strong hoping to obtain a kidney from a donor that last 3 years of her illness.
Karen was also a very, talented singer and sang with several local bands while she lived in Albuquerque, NM. She enjoyed cooking and traveling with her husband and children all over the US and taking in all it had to offer.
Karen is preceded in death by her father, James Allen Litke, who passed September 22, 2017 in Sonora, CA. She is survived by her Husband Buddy Hathaway, their three sons Benjamin Litke, Ernest Hathaway Jr., Dustin Reese, their two daughters Brittney (Hathaway) Martinez, and Brooke Marie Hathaway, and three grandchildren, Johnny Reese, Landon Martinez, and Luna Hathaway. Her Mother Margaret Litke-Ortiz and only sister Darlene Litke-Floriano.
The family gathered for private graveside services at the Mariposa Memorial Gardens in Mesa, CA on May 2, 2020.
Due to COVID, there will be future plans for memorial services once it is safe for larger groups and her family and friends can join in to remember Karen. One will be held on Arizona and the other in California. These dates will be announced at that time.
Karen’s family is requesting in lieu of flowers, please donate to American Diabetes Association for further research enabling them to find better treatment for this disease.
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