Sept. 6, 1943 — March 20, 2015

Karen L. Pugh, 71, of Dowagiac, passed away Friday, March 20, 2015, at her home in Dowagiac. Clark Chapel & Cremation Services of Dowagiac is serving the family.

No services are planned at this time but a celebration of Karen’s life will take place at a later date on Saturday, Aug. 1, 2015, at their home in Dowagiac. Memorials may be made to the Beckwith Theatre, PO Box 882, Dowagiac, MI 49047 in her honor. Those wishing to leave a memory or condolence of Karen online may do so at www.clarkch.com.

Karen was born Sept. 6, 1943, to Elmer and Dorothy (Cullgan) Burgeson in Cleveland, Ohio. She received her Master’s Degree from Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo. She spent many years in the education field as a college administrator and served Southwestern Michigan College in Dowagiac for over 35 years. She belonged to the Dowagiac Junior Arts Club, The Beckwith Theatre, 100 Women Who Make A Difference, CASA and many more local organizations. On March 14, 1987 she married Paul Pugh in South Bend, Indiana.

The brightest light in our lives dimmed and went out on Friday March 20, 2015. Karen (Burgeson) Pugh died. The flood of condolences show that this heartbreak hit us all. So many of our friends and family remarked that she was such a gracious and kind lady.

She was that, although she could tell a pretty good risque story, too. Raised a Lutheran, she left that behind and set sail as a humanist. At last count she annually supported over 50 humanitarian charities. We can say she was a kind and loving soul but that seems profoundly inadequate. She had been diagnosed with heart failure last November and we were so fortunate to have that warning. I

t made our time with her even more precious. We can never fill the hole left in our hearts. Her final act of charity was to donate her body to the University of Michigan Medical School. After they received her records, they called to say that she had slipped a note into her file. It follows:

 

To Whom it May Concern:

I know it isn’t required, or perhaps even desired, but it is important to me to explain my reason for making this donation.

I owe my life, and the quality of it, to the skill and wisdom of the doctors who have treated me. Dr. Spevak first saw me in 1960 when I was 16 and desperately ill with severe anemia. Although lab tests were not able to confirm my lupus for another five years, he considered it a possibility and treated me so as to save my life.

Much more recently my cardiologist and surgeons have treated me with two stints, a defibrillator and by-pass surgery. All through my life I have been so very fortunate to have gotten the care that gave me a normal life and I am more grateful than I can possibly express. I am a wife, mother and educator. I enjoy an active life and love my friends and family deeply. How can I ever say “thank you?” This is just one small
way to do that.

 

Yours truly,

Karen L Pugh

 

Her immediate family survives: husband Paul Pugh, son Jeff Gunn of Dowagiac and a brother John (Colleen) Burgeson of Des Moines, Iowa. Also surviving are four step children; John Pugh of Athens, Ohio, Stephanie Rudd of Paw Paw, Michigan, Sean (Christine) Pugh of Boyne City, Michigan, and Colin Pugh of Athens, Ohio. She also leaves behind 12 grandchildren and three great grandchildren.