Karen Zimmerman, Forever in our Hearts & Home

As friends of Karen and Morningstar, we are asking the community to come together in this time of great loss and need to support and continue the foundation of the home they created and shared with many during their 17 years together. We can help ease the financial burden, contributing to wood for the winter, mortgage payments, other utilities, and accumulated expenses, unforeseen and incurred during and beyond Karen's cancer journey. Helping hold together the lives Karen loved that are yet remaining on the planet. We are asking you for any contribution, large or small.

Our beloved Karen Zimmerman (Talon) was born on the winter solstice December 21, 1971. Living 50 years and 9 months, passing away just to see autumn equinox begin with its brilliant blaze of fall on September 23, 2022. Karen loved the winter solstice and thought it was part of her work to bring light to the world in whatever way she could. She was attracted to careers that provided a service to her community and were people-oriented, where she could make close personal connections. Beginning modestly serving bagels in Cambridge MA, at age 16. With the help of many mentors, she began creating deliciously flavorful, healthy foods from simple natural ingredients she loved as a cook and later chef at local health food stores and wellness centers. She delighted in preparing for her community meals full of nourishment to create a foundation of health from which all other life choices could be explored. Her love of directly working with people led her to receive a master's degree in mental health counseling a few years ago. She began her first full-time counseling job with teens at Sizer school in Fitchburg, MA. For many years she carried her light within, cultivating deep friendships and making a difference in the lives of many. Karen loved to live her life continually striving to be aware of, and improve, in as many ways as possible, the quality of life in herself and others. She did this in her work environment as a manager and leader and in her personal and home life.

At the forefront of this path was her love for reaching out a hand and heart to vulnerable children. She considered herself one, being brought up by a single mom who worked hard to figure out how to keep her and her older brother taken care of. Karen often relied on mentors whose love of children guided them to create a safe and supportive environment. Karen wanted to give back in this way with her recent career change. Together with Morningstar, she nurtured her niece and nephew and recently a younger nephew bringing them into their home many days and weekends. Together they helped them with nourishment and joy and a nurturing, playful place in the world to honor their own individual expression. She always directed her passion for mental health counseling toward the well-being of children. She was fully engaged in this path when it was interrupted in February 2020 after an emergency room visit for increasingly unmanageable symptoms, which brought a diagnosis of stage four ovarian cancer.

Karen and Morningstar were married a few weeks after Karen’s diagnosis after being together as a couple at their home in Ashby for 17 years. This is where they cultivated the foundation of their nurturing life together, growing herbs, food, animals, and healing plants ~ mugwort, mother wart, goldenseal, wild ginger and more in the garden. With love for mother nature immersed in the cycles and rhythms of the natural world. From this foundation, Karen passionately continued her journey of self-discovery and advocacy for the joyful lives of children and the well-being of all people over the last 2 1/2 years until her passing from this world in September 2022.

We appreciate your kindness, caring, and compassion and for continuing to hold a light of love in this world as Karen did to her last moments on earth. Thank you, Creator, for all your many blessings.

With love,

Friends of Karen and Morningstar