In loving memory

One of the most faithful readers of my blog has been my dear friend Karen Rosenblatt. If you look at the names of those who are followers of the blog, she is listed as rogerrosenblatt. Roger is her husband. Vibrant and youthful Karen died suddenly and without any warning on Thursday May 10, at the tender age of 55. She had two sons: Joe is finishing his freshman year in college and Andy his junior year in high school. They called it "sudden cardiac arrest."

I met Karen when I was working for Verizon in the mid-1980s, teaching PBT (Programmer Basic Training).  We both worked in the Bell Atlantic computer training center (that was before the company name changed).  We liked each other and eventually became really good friends. Karen and I both went through separation and divorce around the same time. Karen was the person I tried to fix up with Brad in October 1987. Their first meeting was at a Halloween party in the townhouse development where I lived and Brad lived. She was not impressed and left the party early. A week later Brad and I had our first date and we got married about 6.5 months later. Karen eventually met Roger and they dated for a longer period of time. They got married in October of 1990 and I was the matron of honor. They always lived in the greater Baltimore area, most of the time in Ellicott City, Maryland, which adjoins Columbia.

One of my earlier memories of a time with Karen was on the day that the space shuttle Challenger exploded in January 1986. I was teaching a 3-month class in Richmond, and had relocated there for that period of time. Karen came down one day to relieve me and teach the class for me and she stayed maybe three days. Anyway, the day she came was the day the Challenger exploded. When she reached my workplace she told me that she'd been listening to the radio all the way down I-95 ---- there was continuous news coverage about the explosion.

In September of 1986 Karen and I enrolled in a class to learn how to play bridge, at Howard Community College. After the semester was over, she and I joined several ladies from the class to form a bridge-playing group. We played on the first and third Tuesday night of each month, rotating among homes of the 8 participants. The group continues to play today --- although "girls" have left and new ones have joined --- myself being a prime example of one who left, when we moved to Lynchburg in 2001.  It is interesting that the last time before she died the group played at Karen's house, on Tuesday, May 1. The next time they were scheduled to play was the day of Karen's funeral, May 15. The girls got together for a meal but did not play cards --- instead they had a time of remembrance and love of this person who was the youngest member of the intergenerational group.

My blog was a vehicle through which we reconnected and once again communicated often. Karen would e-mail or call me after a post and ask me follow-up questions. The latest question she had asked was for an explanation of the difference between a species daffodil and a cultivar. She was always interested in what was happening in the lives of my children. She sent a baby gift to Evie and a wedding gift to Eddie and Kelly (though not invited to the wedding).  The last time we spoke was on a Saturday morning about 3 weeks before she died. She called about 9:15 a.m. and we talked for about 30 minutes. I could write pages about Karen's thoughtfulness and the way she kept up with a myriad of friends. But since you did not know her, I won't do that. It is enough that those of us who knew her and were able to attend her funeral were able to share in so many Karen-specific stories as related by the priest and also by Karen's sister. Suffice it to say here, I loved her very much and I will miss her. She was such a behind-the-scenes cheerleader for everyone in her life, including me. Roger attended Lynchburg College. One day Karen and Roger were going to come to Lynchburg and see Hanshill. Now, that day will never come. I will miss the anticipation of that visit and I will miss knowing that Karen is reading my blog and that our friendship continues, despite the miles between us. God's blessings upon you, Karen, and your dear family.