Karen was born on July 13, 1940 in Ogden, Utah to Jessie and Melvin Stratford. She was raised in Ogden and then in Idaho Falls with her two younger sisters, Sandy and Annie. Karen has many fond memories of different activities growing up such as hunting for worms for her father's fishing expeditions, playing with the neighbors, and visiting her Aunt's summer home where she got to try on expensive jewelry. This was an extra special treat.
After graduating from high school, Karen attended Brigham Young University where she majored in early childhood development and elementary education. During her first few years at BYU, she met a special young man, Gene Fortuna, whom she followed to Los Angeles after his graduation. Nine months after living in L.A., where she worked as a Secretary, she and Gene became engaged and eventually married in the Idaho Falls, Idaho temple on January 4, 1962. They remained in L.A. after marriage where Karen took classes at Pepperdine University and El Camino Junior College before returning to Provo, UT to attend BYU and complete her Bachelor's degree while Gene pursued an MBA. In 1971, Gene and Karen moved into a home in Salt Lake City where they raised four children. They lived in the same home for the remainder of their lives.
Karen had many hobbies that she enjoyed throughout her life. She was an excellent seamstress and also loved to paint using water colors, sketch with charcoal pencils, arrange dried flowers, and organize family history. She had a knack for interior decorating, especially in the Country French style, and enjoyed bringing her visions to life in the various rooms of her home. She also spent many hours gardening, canning fruit, and making fruit leather, all of which her family thoroughly enjoyed. As she got older, she enjoyed spending summers in her Timberlakes cabin where she had her own pond with a dock and rowboat. She was blessed with a very devoted husband who served her fervently through the end of his life.
Karen is preceded in death by her husband, Eugene (Gene) Fortuna, her mother, Jessie Stratford, her father, Melvin Stratford, and two grandsons, Matthew Fortuna and Edwin Fortuna. She is survived by her four children: Scott (Barbara) Fortuna of Cottonwood Heights, Utah; Randy (Julie) Fortuna of Loma Linda, California; Julie (Kevin) Peaslee of Salt Lake City, Utah; and Heather (Michael) Fortuna Bush of Stuttgart, Germany. Her posterity includes 17 grandchildren and 20 great grandchildren.
An afternoon viewing for Karen will be held Saturday, September 23, 2023 from 12:45 PM to 1:45 PM at Parleys 5th Ward, 2615 East Stringham Ave, Salt Lake City, Utah 84109. A funeral service will occur Saturday, September 23, 2023 at 2:00 PM, 2615 East Stringham Ave, Salt Lake City, Utah 84109. An interment will occur Saturday, September 23, 2023 at Wasatch Lawn Memorial Park, 3401 Highland Dr, Millcreek, Utah 84106.
