Karen "Cook" Lee Love

Karen Lee Cook was born in Bethesda, Maryland to Bill and Marjorie Cook. Her family moved to several places, but she spent most of her childhood in Butte, Montana where she had fond memories of the time growing up with her younger sister, Kimberlee. She moved to Portland, Oregon for her senior year of high school and graduated from Wilson High School. She attended the University of Oregon and became a member of Alpha Delta Pi sorority. She transferred to Oregon Health and Sciences University where she graduated with a degree in Medical Technology. She finished college in only 3 years and paid for school herself with scholarships. At graduation she had enough money left over to purchase her beloved MG Midget car. Her college friends thought she was cheating on tests because she was able to get excellent grades even though she spent little time studying while also working and having an active social life. That was Karen's way, to be so intelligent that she made learning look effortless and so full of life that she actually mastered the 26 hour day. Karen started her career in medical technology at Physicians and Surgeons Hospital where she worked nights in the Laboratory. In 1979 she purchased her first house. When she went to meet with the mortgage officer at the bank, he fell out of his chair when she walked in the room. She started dating David Love and they were married September 15, 1979 in Portland, Oregon. They had a beautiful reception at the home of her grandparents with the couple's favorite, yellow roses, as decoration. In the process of buying her home, she realized that she had the personality and energy to sell real estate, so she obtained her real estate license and used her "spare time" during the day to embark on another career. In 1981, David and Karen welcomed their first child, Kristin, into the world. Karen went back to working nights at the hospital and the baby quickly started sleeping through the night...according to David. Later that year, Karen and David bought a shared vacation home in Black Butte Ranch. This became one of the most importand vacation spots to the Love family where they went skiing in the winter, boating in the summer, and all of the children grew up learning to ride bicycles. In 1982, their welcomed their second child, Christopher. Karen was able to work nights, come home and sleep for a few hours, and then pick the children up in the early afternoon to be able to take them to their music classes, art classes, and dance classes. She truly exemplified being able to "do it all." In 1984 she started working at Providence Medical Center. She spent 19 years with Providence, both at the Portland and the Milwaukie locations. She was promoted quickly due to her intelligence, positive attitude, and strong managerial skills. She became a mentor to many of her colleagues and had a special love of training new employees and helping people to realize their potential. In 1987, their third child, Courtney, was born. In 1988, their youngest child, Kevin, arrived. She enjoyed family, travel, cooking, and warm weather beaches. In 1992, David and Karen took their children on their first of many vacations to Club Med in Mexico. Karen worked hard and planned all of her vacation days to be able to travel, especially during the cold and rainy Oregon winters. She loved caring for people by cooking for them and hosting them at her home. Karen and David installed a swimming pool at their home so that their children and their friends would choose to spend time at the Love household. Karen was always ready with rice crispie treats and frozen pizza to be able to host a party at a moment's notice. She was always the "fun" mom and drove an 8 passenger van for years so that she could transport her children and all of their friends, even when they needed rides late at night, early in the morning, or to far away locations. She took several trips with her sister-in-law and several friends to places including Germany and Ireland. She was always looking forward to the next adventure. She worked full time, was able to attend all of her children's sporting events, and went back to school to earn her Executive MBA from the University of Oregon in 2005. In 2005 she joined Regence Blue Cross as the Director of Quality Assurance and Training. She and David carpooled to work downtown and started to enjoy a a new phase of life as empty nesters who went to happy hour and spent less time attending high school sporting events and more time watching University of Oregon football games with friends. In 2011 she finally achieved her lifelong goal of being a grandmother. She was a wonderful mother, but a truly outstanding grandmother. She found every adorable item of University of Oregon baby gear and started learning how to sew baby bibs and quilts for her grandchildren. She took the grandchildren on two trips to Disneyland as well as multiple trips to Hawaii, Mexico, and wine country. She joined Portland Adventist Medical Center in 2011 as the Laboratory Technical Operations Manager. Karen is survived by her husband of 36 years, David; her daughters Kristin Boscia (Chris), Courtney; her sons Christopher, Kevin; four grandchildren; and her sister, Kim Cook. On September 30, 2015, Karen passed away peacefully surrounded by her family sharing stories about favorite memories of their time together. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her name to Tucker-Maxon School, 2860 SE Holgate Blvd, Portland, OR www.tuckermaxon.org Viewing Monday October 5, 2015 4-7PM Sunnyside Little Chapel of the Chimes, 11667 SE Stevens Rd., Happy Valley, Oregon 97086. Funeral Mass Tuesday October 6, 2015 10:00AM at Christ the King Catholic Church, 7414 SE Michael Drive, Milwaukie, Oregon 97222. Service Information