FRANCIS, KAREN

NEW YORK MILLS >> Karen Lee Peebles Francis, 71, Burrstone Road, died Saturday, Dec. 2, 2017 following a short illness. Born in Oneida, on July 31, 1946, she was the daughter of Albert R. and Marjorie Adle Peebles and grew up in the family home on West Elm Street. Karen was a graduate of Oneida High School, Class of 1964, Binghamton School of Nursing, Class of 1967, and received her bachelor’s degree from St. Joseph’s College. Karen’s professional nursing career spanned a 45 year era, serving as manager of the Coronary Care Units at St. Luke’s Hospital and Faxton Hospital and later served for two years as the assistant manager of Critical Care, following the merger of Faxton and St. Luke’s. She finished her career in 2011 as the Cardiac Unit Clinical Educator with the Slocum-Dickson Clinic. Karen taught local coronary care courses for several years, as well as CPR and ACLS. She was instrumental in directing the creation of and set up of specialized units of care and earned the admiration, respect and continuing friendship of the medical staffs with whom she worked, and they “thought the world of Karen.” She tried to focus on family, friends and the needs of others, by using the human touch in work as well as life, giving a hug, holding hands, or a friendly pat on the back. To her, her nursing career was more than making a living… it was a way of life. She was a member of the Utica Association of Critical Care Nurses, serving as its president for one year and was a member of St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in Oneida. Surviving are her three daughters, Shawn Garland, Jodi Youngs and Kristi Francis, all of Vernon; her six grandchildren, Justin, Kaleigh, Angel, Ethan, Briana and Peyton; her three great-grandchildren, Axton, Ezra and Brielle; her former husband, James M. Francis; her two sisters and brothersin-law, Mikki J. and Carl Lipuma of Coral Springs, Fla. and Nikki N. and Gerald Jarema of Davie, Fla.; her brother and sister-in-law, Myron G. and Gayle M. Peebles of Oneida; and several nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by two sisters, Gail Merchant and Dixie Cipollone, and one brother, Albert D. “Don” Peebles. Funeral services will be held 10:30 a.m., Saturday from the Campbell-Dean Funeral Home, Inc., 260 Main St., Oneida, with the Rev. Denise Bowen, officiating. Interment will be made in Glenwood Cemetery. Friends may call at the funeral home, 5-7 p.m., Friday. To leave a condolence, visit

www.campbell-dean.com. CAMPBELL-DEAN FUNERAL HOME, INC. Oneida