Karen Dawn Sanchez

Karen Dawn Sanchez, age 65, of Oceanside California, passed away on December 27, 2020. Karen was born to Joe Dalton Thompson and Daisy Lillith Krider on December 15, 1955 in Oceanside. Raised in Oceanside by John M. and Daisy Kozak, Karen enlisted in the Army after high school. In 1978 she welcomed her daughter Jessica Bee Taylor.

Karen received a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering Degree from San Diego State University in 1989. After graduating, she started her 21 year career with Caltrans in Fresno California and met Phillip R. Sanchez. She married Phillip in 1994 and they lived together in Clovis California until retirement. Karen was an active member in her local community with emphasis on the less fortunate. She helped organize meal distribution to those in need. She also enjoyed piano lessons, RV camping, entertaining guests, and being an active member of Immanuel Lutheran Church.

She is dearly missed by her husband Phillip, daughter Jessica and husband Tony Garofalo, daughter Stephanie and husband Chad Lenaburg, daughter Sara Sanchez and fiancé Jacob Rodgers, son Willis Adkins and fiancé Timberly Lane, niece Saira Thompson and fiancé Shane Martin, sister Carol McNickle, uncle Don and Margaret Krider, and extended family including eight grandchildren. Her children and grandchildren remember her as a loving, caring mother and grandmother with a “Trust but Verify” attitude.

She was preceded in death by her parents and her brother Robert Thompson.

In honor of Karen’s life, donations can be made to Hearts to Hands Mobile Homeless Ministry, Fresno California.

Private services will be held for Karen on Monday January 25 at Eternal Hills Mortuary and Park, Oceanside California. A gathering to celebrate Karen’s life will be held at a future time when gatherings are safe.