Karen Davis

MISSOULA - Karen Kemp Davis, of Missoula, passed away Sunday, January. 4, 2009, at The Springs of Missoula, Footsteps Memory Care facility.





Karen was born June 9, 1929, in Lake Forest, Ill., to Charles Earle Kemp and Alma Barrow Kemp. As a young girl, she resided in Lake Bluff, Ill., and Birmingham, Mich., before her family settled on Seward Street in Evanston, Ill. She spent many summers as a teenage girl in Gloucester, Mass., with her father, who came to paint at the well-known Rocky Neck Art Colony.





She attended Evanston Township High School for two years before completing her high school education at Howard Seminary in West Bridgewater, Mass. She graduated from Howard in June 1949. Karen continued her education at Endicott Junior College in Beverly, Mass., graduating in the spring of 1951.





It was at Endicott that she met John Joseph Davis Jr. of Beverly, now of Ipswich, Mass., who would later become her husband on November. 15, 1953. They had three children, Ellen, Tom and John. Their marriage ended in divorce in 1974.





Over the years, she resided in Beverly and Hamilton, Mass., moving to Missoula in August 2001 to be closer to her sons. She lived at the Clark Fork Riverside for six years before moving to The Springs’ memory care facility.





While living in Hamilton, Mass., and at Beverly Commons in Beverly, she continued to enjoy drawing and painting. Karen was blessed to have inherited this gift from her father, who was a self-taught artist and had a career as a noted illustrator for major magazines and corporations. She also enjoyed knitting, sewing, counted cross-stitch, puzzles, British mystery novels, the music of George Gershwin and well-written television shows.





Karen was a 20-year employee of Johnny Appleseed’s Inc. in Beverly, before retiring in August 2001 at age 72. She also worked part-time for Corcoran Management Co. at Beverly Commons. Upon her arrival in Missoula, she teamed up with newly made friends at the Clark Fork to volunteer her time at the Bargain Corner Thrift Store. She really enjoyed her every Wednesday jaunts to the Bargain Corner, where she always seemed to find something good to bring home at a bargain!





Her father, Charles Earle Kemp; her mother, Alma Barrow Kemp; and brothers, Alan Evans Kemp and Charles Earle Kemp Jr.; preceded her in death.





Survivors include her children, Ellen Suzanne Davis of Cambridge, Mass., Thomas Kemp Davis and his wife Kate of Florence and John Drummond Davis of Missoula; as well as her brother, Donald Murray Kemp of El Cerrito, Calif.; her sister, Courtney Kemp Hefte of Clarksville, Tenn.; her sister-in-law, Margaret “Peggy” (Davis) Riley and her husband Edward of Marblehead, Mass.; and many nieces and nephews.





A memorial reception will be held from 1-3 p.m. Tuesday, January. 13, at The Springs of Missoula, 3710 American Way.





The family would like to thank all of Karen’s caregivers at The Springs and Hospice of Missoula for the kindness and excellent care she received.





In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations in Karen’s name be sent to Hospice of Missoula, 800 Kensington Ave., Suite 204, Missoula, MT 59801.





Cremation arrangements entrusted to the Cremation and Burial Society of the Rockies.




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