Community News Publisher Karen Babineau dies at age 73
Karen Abigail NorthropBabineau, former publisher and editor of the Glendora Community News, died Feb. 21 at San Dimas Community Hospital because of COVID-19 complications, her family said. She was 73.
Born April 6, 1947, in Mercer Island, Washington, Babineau was raised in Yakama, Washington, until the family moved to Walnut. She moved to Glendora in 1990, where she met Joe Babineau on a blind date. The two married on Christmas Day in 1993.
“We had a date at The Village Vault in Glendora and everything just clicked right away,” Joe Babineau recalled in a phone interview Wednesday.
Karen Babineau worked in the automobile dealership advertising industry until she moved to Glendora and started producing a coupon booklet for local businesses. In 1994, she started the Glendora Community News, which featured stories on everyday people in the city.
“The community played a
big part in the paper,” Joe Babineau said. “Her goal was to get as many local children and their stories in the paper as possible.”
In 2011, the paper ceased publication in response to declining advertising revenue, and Karen Babineau retired shortly after.
She stayed connected to the community, however, becoming president of the Glendora Chamber of Commerce, and she was a presence at City Council meetings for years. She also contributed to various local organizations, including the Glendora Womens Club, the Kiwanis Club and the Rotary Club.
She enjoyed spending Sundays watching NASCAR and professional bull riders, her husband said.
“She just loved Glendora, and she loved people in general,” Joe Babineau recalled. “Karen was always expressing her love for everyone, and they always did return it.”
The couple were in love and happy for the past 29 years, he said.
Karen Babineau is survived by five children, seven grandchildren and two great-grandsons.
A public service is not planned at this time.