Obituary of Karen Sue Peters

Karen Sue Peters of North Charleston, South Carolina was welcomed into the arms of her personal Lord and Savior on April 25, 2021. Karen, loving wife, mother, sister, daughter, and beloved Babcia was born June 13, 1959 in Toledo, Ohio. She was preceded in death by her parents Robert and Genevieve (Sliwinski) Gugger and her four-legged fur babies Christian, Maverick, and Jake. She is survived by her husband of 31 years, Dave, her daughters April (Stephen) Shaffer, Jill (Jonathan) Kaess, and Carrie (Brandon) Glanzer, her 10 grandchildren, Cayden, Aliyah, Brynn, Kaatri, Colby, Gloria, Maealie, Delaney, Daphne, Braxton, and her “shadow” Ensign. Karen is also survived by her siblings Dennis (Nancy) Gugger, Ginny (Jim) Hiltner, and Anne Marie (Gary) Echler, and by many nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews.

Karen had a gentle humble spirit and quiet independence. Her greatest joy was her family. Nobody loved better; selfless, deep, and intentional. She was happiest rocking a grandbaby, reading a story or crawling on the floor and playing make believe with her treasured grandchildren.  Some of her favorite family times were spent near the water, whether Ocean Isle Beach, Lake Erie or Bellingham Bay. Karen was the queen of crafting, garage-saling, and bargain hunting. She was the ultimate gift-giver, always perfectly thoughtful and often handmade with love. She was so generous in time and spirit not only with her family but also as a longtime volunteer in the church nursery. Karen’s love and care for others was rooted in her faith and hope in Jesus Christ. Her life was a beautiful reflection of God’s grace and love.  

We would like to thank all those who provided such loving care to Karen, including her sisters, Ginny and Anne Marie and her best friend Barb Ray-Couzens.

A celebration of life is planned for this summer in Ohio.

So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you; Take your everyday, ordinary life – your sleeping, eating, going-to-work life – and place it before God as an offering.  … Don’t become too well adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking.  Instead, fix your attention on God.  You’ll be changed from the inside out.

– Romans 12:1-2 The Message

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital (https://www.stjude.org/donate/donate-to-st-jude.html?sc_icid=header-btn-donate-now) or Welcome Home Ministries Africa in Jinja, Uganda (https://www.welcomehomeafrica.com/donate/) in Karen’s name.