Karen Gail (Geisinger) DePaepe (Oct. 2, 1965 – Aug. 27, 2021), a 23-year Orinda resident, whose two sons, Andrew and David, went to Glorietta, will be remembered by her family and friends.
Karen (Geisinger) DePaepe passed Aug. 27 to be with the Lord.
Karen was born Oct. 2, 1965 to Arch and Christine Geisinger of Storm Lake, Iowa. Growing up, she had a happy childhood and enjoyed playing tennis, the violin and piano, cheerleading and working at The Courtroom clothing store on Lake Street. After graduating from Storm Lake High School, Karen attended Iowa State University where she was an active member of the Pi Beta Phi sorority. In 1988, she graduated Cum Laude from ISU with a degree in marketing and set her sights on success.
She headed southwest to Scottsdale, Arizona, where she worked in marketing and event planning for Concepts II at the Phoenician Resort. She made several friends and had several opportunities to travel to California. She fell in love with San Francisco and by 1990, accepted a position at DFS – Duty Free Shoppers, Ltd. While at DFS, she gained marketing knowledge and traveled to Europe, Australia and Hong Kong.
Karen was an enthusiastic bike rider and in 1997, met Eric “Rick” DePaepe while biking. They married July of 1999, moved to Orinda and were blessed with two handsome sons, Andrew and David, who attended Glorietta Elementary School. In 2005, Karen accepted a position with Wells Fargo Bank where she excelled as VP of Marketing, online sales. In 2007, Karen and Rick divorced, but they continued to lovingly co-parent until Karen became ill.
She is remembered as an amazing, smart, talented, vibrant woman with an incredible smile and joyful laugh. She will be dearly missed.
Karen’s parents, Archibald and Christine Geisinger, preceded Karen in death. Left to cherish her memories are her sons: Andrew and David DePaepe of Lafayette; sister Elizabeth Hatch of Lake View, Iowa; and brother Stephen (Donna) Geisinger of Kansas City, Missouri.
Nieces Laura Knoll of Nebraska and Nicole Hatch of Texas and nephews Josh Hatch of Iowa; John Geisinger of Texas; Scott Geisinger of Missouri; Thomas Geisinger of New York and Ryan Kinney of Kansas also mourn Karen’s loss, along with extended family and friends.
Final celebration and tribute information is pending. The family requests, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to a charity of your choice in Karen’s name and memorials or cards sent to Stephen Geisinger, 102 The Woodlands, Kansas City, MO, 64119 or emails to Stephen.geisinger@gmail.com.
– Stephen Geisinger
