Karen H. Mack

On July 23, 2021, we sadly lost our beloved sister, Karen Helen Mack.  She passed away after a long illness in Las Vegas, NV.  Her infectious smile, generous spirit, and love of life remain here on earth with us.

Karen, age 77, was born in Vallejo, CA, the second daughter of Donald Lynn Mack and Isabelle Reineking Mack.  Her father was the co-owner of a family confectionary wholesale business in Southern California, and Karen loved to call him frequently to order the “sweet treat” of the day.  Tragically, her father died suddenly of a heart attack at the age of 41, leaving the family devastated.  They moved to Southern Nevada to be near her mother’s sister in 1949. Soon thereafter, her mother Isabelle Mack became the first Henderson editor of a newly established newspaper, the Las Vegas SUN, and the family moved to Henderson, purchasing a “townsite home” at 230 Lead St.

Karen attended Basic High School in Henderson, NV, and loved her high school classes and friends.  After graduating in 1962, she joined the Department of Interior (Bureau of Land Management) in Boulder City, NV as a clerk-typist.  Despite a severe disability, she remained close to her mother and supported her newspaper work until her mother’s passing in 1985.
Karen’s very best years were with her beloved friend and caregiver, Richard Schmidt.  They resided in a Las Vegas mobile home park in Las Vegas for 20 years until Richard’s death in 2018.  Karen was an avid reader, loved to crochet, and was happiest when she was donating her crocheted slippers to local charities.  She was recalling those years to the nursing home staff where she resided the day before she died. 

She is survived by her sister, Linda Mack Smith, and brother-in-law Ted Smith, who resides in Logandale, NV.  Linda profoundly misses her “baby sister.” 

A visitation time will be held Thursday, August 5, 2021 from 9:30 - 10 a.m.  at the Moapa Valley Mortuary Chapel.  A memorial service will follow at 10 a.m. at the mortuary. Private memorial services are planned.  Karen will be interred in the Logandale Cemetery.  In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the National Atomic Testing Museum, Las Vegas, Nevada.  

“Death leaves a heartache no one can heal;
Love leaves a memory no one can steal”
                                           --Irish Proverb

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