Karen Kay (Pearson) Daman

Karen Kay Daman passed away in her Windsong assisted living apartment in Bemidji, Minnesota, on Monday, September 9, 2024. Her family was by her side and holding her hands as she took her final breath. She lived beyond her diagnosis with pulmonary fibrosis and felt she was getting some “extra days”.

A celebration of life for Karen will be held in the main floor gathering area at the Windsong Assisted Living Home on Sunday, September 22, 2024, from 2:00-4:00 p.m. All friends are welcome and plenty of coffee and food, especially junk food, will be served. Please come and share your gift of self with others. No gifts or memorials please.

Karen was born in Spencer, Iowa, on September 30, 1939, to Clarence and Vivian Pearson. She grew up in Mason City, Iowa, and spent her early years with her younger sister, Patricia. She went on to attend the University of Northern Iowa where she married Jim Mott, who would die tragically in a train accident shortly before their daughter, Sarah, was born. Later, she met James Daman, a fellow UNI student. They were married, and this union lasted until his death in 2017. After graduating college, the young couple moved to Yuma, Arizona, for a few years until new jobs landed them in Bemidji, a place they’d never been. Karen and James had long careers in Bemidji while raising five kids. Karen worked for Beltrami County Social Services for over 30 years. Her co-workers were her second family and members of this group continued their friendships and weekly lunches up until her passing. She loved her friends dearly. Karen had five children and was with all of them just weeks before her death, for her granddaughter Emily’s wedding. It was a blessed weekend, as we came to understand her time was running out. She also had many grandchildren and great grandchildren. She had enough love for all of them, and then some.

Karen was a lifelong avid reader and learned to play the piano, kept wonderful gardens, worked relentlessly on her puzzles, and became a restorer of vintage quilts, all after retiring. She loved living and did not want to leave us. Her morning newspaper and reheated cups of day old coffee will now sit untouched. Like a good book, whose story you don’t want to end, she reached the final page, leaving us wanting more. Also, like a good book, we now have her on our memory shelf, and will not forget the love and joy she brought into our lives.

Karen is survived by her five children: Sarah (Bill) Israelson, Hearst (Deena) Daman, Paul (Erica) Daman, Ted Daman, and Tom Daman, as well as her grandchildren: Zach, Emily, Andrew, little Sarah, Tyler, Ryan and Abigail, and great grandchildren Arthur, Isa, and Dean Justice.

Karen will now join her parents, sister, first husband Jim, second husband James, stillborn daughter, Angela, a grandson, Steven, daughter-in-law, Jody, and many other beloved relatives and friends in heaven.

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