Karen Elean Garcia Rodriguez & Selah Elean Mowzoon

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A funeral service for Karen will be held Monday, July 18, 2022 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM at St. Patricks Catholic Community, 10815 N. 84th Street, Scottsdale, AZ 85260. Following the funeral service will be a graveside service from 11:30 AM to 12:00 PM at Resthaven / Carr-Tenney Mortuary & Memorial Gardens, 4310 East Southern Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85042.

Karen Elean Garcia Rodriguez was born in Mexico City on October 13th, 1989. She was brought to the United States when she was only four years old by her parents, who risked everything for a better life for their children. Karen, her brothers, Mario and Israel, and their parents, Mario and Nelba, all settled in Central Phoenix. Karen had big dreams and was dedicated to accomplishing them. Throughout her life, she overcame every challenge she was presented with, through hard-work and perseverance.

Karen excelled in school, but was unable to continue due to being ineligible for the much needed scholarships she would need for college due to her citizenship status. Instead, she found another way forward. Karen picked up full-time work in order to help support her family.

In 2011, Karen had her first child, Donovan, and married the following year to her husband Mazi Mowzoon. The three of them began their journey together as a family. Karen felt she needed to return to school to finish her education, together with her husband, Karen worked multiple restaurant jobs in order to afford her way back, ultimately earning her GED. Pregnant with her second child, Natalia, Karen attended Nursing School at ASU in 2017, becoming the first member of her family to go to college. Unfortunately, the state Supreme Court found Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients ineligible for in-state tuition, forcing Karen to drop out. Nevertheless, Karen found a new way forward, as she always did, paying 22 monthly installments at Aspen University to earn her degree.

Karen’s life was forever changed when she was young and her mother was treated by a Spanish speaking nurse. Feeling welcome in a place she typically feared due to being an immigrant opened Karen's eyes. She worked tirelessly the rest of her life to instill this feeling of love and care into every patient she met. It was especially important to her to make Spanish speaking patients feel loved and cared for. She lived by the words Maya Angelou wrote, “As a nurse, we have the opportunity to heal the heart, mind, soul, and body of our patients, their families and ourselves. They may forget your name, but they will never forget how you made them feel.”

Straight out of nursing school a worldwide pandemic began and Karen immediately rose to the challenge, working on the frontline treating COVID-19 patients. Then, Hurricane Ida hit during the pandemic, so she traveled out of state to support those in need. Karen continued to travel for weeks at a time to support her family and aid underserved communities. Karen and her family would travel frequently to visit one another to make the distance more bearable.

The way she treated her patients, could only be overshadowed by the way she treated her family. Together they lived a wonderful and fulfilling life. You could often find Karen dancing to her favorite music, bike riding with her husband and kids to a farm they frequently picnicked at, or spending weekends at a time together in Disneyland. Karen loved her family more than anything, and they were all very excited for the arrival of their third child, Selah, to join their adventures.

Karen was incredibly beautiful, had an infectious smile, cheerful disposition, and was unbelievably sweet. Karen served her community, often volunteered her time and efforts, and sacrificed for other people. Karen received encouragement throughout her life and felt a sense of duty to repay that kindness to other DACA students, reminding them that they too can make a huge impact in the world.

If she could share one thing it would be a reminder that we are not limited by our circumstances and just because it hasn’t been done before, doesn’t mean it can’t be done. Karen believed there was always more work to be done, and that everyone possesses the ability to make a monumental impact in the lives of others.