It is with great sadness that the Iwan and Ponzo families announce the passing of Karen Elizabeth, after a valiant battle with cancer, on June 25, 2017 in her 65th year. Beloved wife of 37 years to Joseph Iwan, dear sister of Kenn Ponzo and Christine Shmanka.
Karen will be fondly remembered for her avid love of reading, the Carpenters, Hallmark movies, old sitcoms and everything Christmas. She started a local annual White Christmas party and it will be continued in her honor.
Karen loved children’s books and had begun her own series of Princess stories. She had completed a romance novel and was writing its sequel and had a children’s novel on the back burner.
She was a beloved elementary teacher in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and adult ESL teacher in King City. She will be remembered for giving her students wings. She sang in the St. John the Baptist Church choir, was involved in Delta Kappa Gamma, a teachers’ sorority which gives out scholarships to students, and Valley Bears, a local service organization.
After cremation, she will be interred at Holy Cross Cemetery in Toronto.
A memorial service to celebrate her life will be held at 11am, Monday July 24th, at St. John the Baptist Church.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Leiomyosarcoma Direct Research Foundation at lmsdr.org.
