Karen Van Epps

PHOENIX – We are saddened to announce the passing of our Mother, Karen Van Epps, following a brief but valiant fight with cancer on March 14, 2022. She was surrounded by her children, Elizabeth and Kevin, as well as her two grandsons, Jack and Kyle (Gretta).

Karen has always been active in volunteer community service, including many years on boards and commissions. Because of her leadership abilities and passion to help others, she served as Chairperson for the Governor’s Council for Developmental Disabilities, Arizona’s Developmental Disabilities Advisory Council, ACCCI (Arizona Consortium for Children with Chronic Illness), the Human Rights Committee (now the Independent Oversight Committee), as well as a long-time board member of AZTEC (Arizona Training and Evaluations Center). She was also instrumental in the closing of the institutions for the Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities in Phoenix and Tucson, making it possible for those individuals to be part of the community. Karen improved her great advocacy skills as she ensured that her sister, Jane, would have a great life, including the appropriate services. Karen then offered that same expertise and knowledge to other families in Arizona who were struggling to obtain appropriate services for their children. Additionally, Karen has been instrumental in encouraging legislation that is beneficial to individuals served by the Division of Developmental Disabilities, and testifying before committees to stress the importance of these bills’ passage.

Words cannot express the void her passing will leave in all of us, but to know she passed comfortably and after living a life that was full of selfless service to so many, leaves us with the thought that to have known her has been a privilege and an honor. Her tireless work and compassion for the disabled will be her legacy, and she will be truly missed.

Karen is preceded in death by her husband, Richard, and her parents, Violet and Vernon Lundquist. She is survived by her children, Elizabeth and Kevin, grandsons Kyle (Gretta) and Jack, and sister, Jane.

In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that donations be made to Hospice of the Valley, 1510 E. Flower St. Phoenix, AZ 85014. A Celebration of Karen’s Life will be held Friday, April 1, 2022, 2:00 PM, at Meldrum Mortuary, 52 N. Macdonald, Mesa, AZ.