No headline

Karen Stafford Lyon, 63

Karen Stafford Lyon, 63, a resident of Copperleaf Golf Club, in Estero, Fla., since September of this year, passed away Nov. 26, 2017, at Health Park Medical Center, in Fort Myers, Fla., following complications from a cardiac event.

She was born in Charleston, S.C., on Nov. 6, 1954, the second of four children to Lte. Cmdr. Richard Stafford, (retired, U.S. Navy) and his wife, Betty, who preceded her in death, along with a younger brother, Dana Stafford, in 2008.

Karen is survived by her husband of 28 years, Cmdr. David C. Lyon, (retired, U.S. Navy); her two siblings, Rick and Gail Stafford of Tampa, Fla.; along with two stepchildren and their families, Heather Vargas-Lyon and her husband, Jorge of Seattle, Wash., and William Lyon and his wife, Amelia of Missoula, Mont.

Karen is a 1978 graduate of the University of South Florida in Tampa, Fla., where she majored in biology. She was commissioned an officer in the U.S. Navy following graduation from Officer Candidate School in 1981, and subsequently gained her specialty in Integrated Undersea Surveillance Systems for Fleet Anti-Submarine Warfare. Karen was stationed at San Nicolas Island, Calif., Monterey, Calif., and Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, during her Navy career. Her personal awards include the Navy Commendation medal and Navy Achievement medal along with other unit and command awards. She was a Lieutenant when she resigned her commission in 1992, accompanying her husband, Dave, to Colorado Springs, Colo., with follow-on tours in Italy and Dahlgren, Va., while helping raise their two children.

Following Dave’s retirement from the Navy in 1999, they moved to Hayden Lake, Idaho, to be near his family. She was both a caregiver for his parents and worked as a State Graduate Exam Tester in Coeur d’Alene. She was a member of Saint Luke’s Episcopal Church for many years, and an avid bird watcher with an almost encyclopedic recall of bird species in the U.S. Karen was a devoted fan of the Seattle Seahawks and epitomizes the true spirit of “the 12th man.”

She was predeceased by her favorite black lab, Shadow, with whom she now resides, and is survived by her devoted dog, Kirby.

A celebration of life memorial service is scheduled at 11 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 3, 2017, at the Copperleaf Golf Clubhouse, 23101 Copperleaf Blvd., Estero, Fla.

Remembrances of and tributes to Karen can be sent to the family at www.ShikanyFuneralHome.com via her obituary page.

Memorial donations, in lieu of flowers, can be made to St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, 501 E. Wallace Ave., Coeur d’Alene, ID 83814.