Barbara Ann Karrer

Barbara Ann Karrer (nee Tillotson) died peacefully surrounded by family and friends at Wellington Regional Hospital, Florida on Saturday, November 11, 2017. She was 85. Widow of Richard Grover Karrer, Barbara is survived by her daughters Mary Ester Andreu and husband Juan Jose Andreu, Jr.; Susan Jean Parks and husband Roy Allen Parks; grandchildren Sarah Christine Parks and boyfriend Kurtis Robert Alva; Johnathan Carl Parks and wife Ashley Nicole Parks; Danielle Marie Parks; and Michael Joseph Andreu. Her extended family includes nephews Bob, Ken and David Fletcher. Her parents were Ester M. Blankenhagen and Allen Henry Tillotson and she was born September 26, 1932 in Chicago Illinois. Services: November 16, 2017 at Palms West Funeral Home in Royal Palm Beach, Florida. Viewing at 10:00 AM Funeral Service at 11:00 AM Interment at 12:45 at the South Florida National Cemetery in Lake Worth. In Lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations to Youth for Christ of Palm Beach County. Attention Sarah Parks with Youth for Christ, and mailed to 800 Northpoint Parkway, Suite 202, West Palm Beach, Florida 33407. Barbara Karrer’s Journey Home Barbara grew up in the area of Chicago known today as Wrigleyville. In fact, she lived so close to the stadium that she regularly attended “ladies day” with her friends and sometimes with her mother, for all of 25 cents. It seems that the ladies in the family were the die-hard Cubs fans. She walked to her schools in the area, graduating from Lake View high school. Barbara was active in a number of areas. She was captain of the Volleyball team, served on the board of the Girls’ Athletic Association (she even earned several letters for her school jacket), was a member of the girls’ social group, the Latin Club and editor of Lake View’s Red and White yearbook. With those stunning achievements behind her, Barbara earned a full scholarship to Northwestern University. She was very active there as well, while earning a B.A. in English Literature. She continued to work on the yearbook and served as editor for the Northwestern Sylabus. She commuted by el for three years and lived on campus for her senior year at the Alpha Delta Pi sorority house. She would run into sorority sisters in several of the countries she lived in overseas. She even had the honor to pin her granddaughter Danielle at her ADPi installation at Florida State. After college, Barbara was introduced to Richard Karrer by a man who was dating her best friend. Apparently the couple thought that Dick and Barbara should meet and the rest was history. Dick, who was three years older, had also attended Lake View High School and later Northwestern, although they never met through school. Dick was a Navy officer in the Korean War. Fortunately, the war ended before he saw action so he was then stationed on a ship in Lake Michigan. He would sometimes meet up with Barbara in his Navy whites. He received special permission to grant her a tour of the ship, which delighted her even while she trooped around the decks and up and down ladders in her suit skirt, stockings and heels. Barbara’s story was so closely tied to Richard’s and their work and life together that one can’t tell her story without sharing his. Dick and Barbara were engaged in six months and married on April 21, 1956 at the tiny chapel at Northwestern University. At the time of Richard’s passing in 2015, they had been married for 59 years. Within their first year of marriage they decided to fulfill their dream of traveling by enrolling at the American Institute of Foreign Trade (aka Thunderbird) in Phoenix, Arizona. The GI bill payed for this education, which launched their adventure of 25 years living and working in South America. Dick earned a second bachelor’s degree in Foreign Trade while Barbara completed the “Wives’ program” in Spanish and Latin American Studies. Their first stint overseas was in Medellin, Colombia, where Mary Ester was born. About a year later they were relocated to Sao Paulo, Brazil, where several years later Susan Jean was born. Future assignments took them to Caracas and Valencia, Venezuela. In the early 70’s they returned to Medellin, where the girls were established in school, they acquired a cat and dog, and were settling in. Within three months, they were transferred back to Sao Paulo, where they stayed until 1985. Daughter Mary graduated high school from “Graded” school, where she had started first grade! This was also the year that Barbara’s Christmas letter could honestly say, “this year we lived in three countries.” While Dick’s international business career flourished, Barbara got involved in women’s clubs, including a term as President of the Sao Paulo’s Women’s Association, the America Association of University Women and served on several committees at the churches they attended. The Karrers were very involved in Fellowship Church in Sao Paulo, which was an English speaking non-denominational church. When in the United States, they were members of First Congregational Church in Fort Lauderdale. Later, they joined Miami Shores Community Church in Miami Shores. Most recently, Barbara joined Community of Hope Methodist Church in Loxahatchee. She volunteered at the church office three days a week and was known as Miss Barbara to the staff. Home leave for this once Chicago-based family changed to Ft. Lauderdale where Barbara’s retired parents lived. So many summers were spent at motels there that Dick and Barbara finally invested and became owner-operators of the Villa Venice, a 24-unit “ma and pa” motel two blocks from the beach. When the opportunity came to return to an international assignment, the Karrer’s hired a manager and continued to own the motel for 10 years. This led to many fun summers for Susan and Mary who learned all about cleaning and painting rooms, pool maintenance and front office skills. When Dick finally left his Sao Paulo assignment, he and Barbara were not ready to retire. They sold the motel and bought a lampshade factory which they ran together for 20 years. By this time the girls had met and married their spouses and the grandchildren came along. Mary had the privilege of having her parents close by for many years when they lived in the Miami area. The last stage of their life together was retirement in Royal Palm Beach, where they were closer to Susan and her family. Barbara thoroughly enjoyed attending special events for all of her grandchildren, relishing every moment with them. She and Susan forged a very special mother-daughter bond as they connected through bible study groups, volunteering at church, attending ladies’ lunches and playing very lively card games at home. “Gaga,” as she was known to family had a wickedly competitive streak and was very hard to beat. She was always up for a challenge, which included her daily crossword puzzle. She loved mysteries, reading at least three library books a week, and was always up on current events; her favorite shows were Morning Joe and Meet the Press. At every stage of her life, Barbara lived in the moment. She loved being a stay-at-home mother for her girls, and volunteered in Girl Scouts and parent committees. She also loved working and adeptly ran the motel and lampshade factory with Dick, with her usual grace and efficiency. Barbara became a first-class caregiver, which allowed Dick to live a full and rich life during three years of declining health. Her family attributes his longevity to her loving care. She was with Dick when he took his final breath in the comfort of their home. Barbara even approached widowhood with vigor. She made friends with another recent widow who had traveled the world. They would meet frequently for lunch or to play cards and just keep each other company. She would travel to Miami for week-long visits with Mary and family; she joined in on a trip to Bradenton and went to the beach for the first time in years. She loved having grand-daughter Sarah as her roommate because the house was always filled with the younger generation. Most recently she spent a month in Maine with her friend Pat White, another graduate from Thunderbird. They traveled the backroads of Maine to farmers’ markets and small towns, each taking turns driving. Gratefully, Barbara’s illness was short lived after her trip, so her final memories were still about adventure and exploration. Her family remembers her beauty, her courage, her sparkle, and her simple trust in God and her Lord Jesus Christ every step of the way. “A wife of noble character…is worth far more than rubies. She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.” Proverbs 31

Barbara Ann Karrer

September 26, 1932 - November 11, 2017