Karen Ann Sargent

Karen Ann Sargent, 88 years old, was born on November 14, 1936 in Blue Rapids, Kansas, six years after her sister Pat. She spent her formative years in Waterville, Kansas where her father owned and ran a small business and her mother worked for a dentist.

Karen was a very social person and told stories of how she would often be scolded in elementary school for talking during class. She was very active in the small high school as a cheer leader, in plays and a band member. She worked in the local diner where she was happy to receive $.25 tips for spending money. After high school she attended Emporia State University where she studied to become a teacher. In the summer of '57, Karen moved to Grand Lake, Colorado, where she would become a cabin maid for one of the lodges.

Roger and Karen met in the fall of 1956, and decided that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, so they decided to get married in Waterville, Kansas on December 1, 1957. After a short weekend together, they packed up Roger's new '57 Ford station wagon to move to Denver, Colorado where he would start his new job with the Atomic Energy Commission. Over the next three years they traveled in the station wagon throughout the Western United States for Roger's job. Karen was thrilled to be living a vagabond lifestyle during that time.

In 1960, they ended up in Idaho Falls, Idaho, where they would purchase their first home and start their family by bringing Mike and Linda into the world. With two young children, Roger accepted a transfer to Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1963. Kirk came along in 1970, and each of the children spent their formative years in Albuquerque. (Unfortunately, Kirk passed in May 1996 at the age of twenty-six.)

When Mike and Linda were in high school, Karen became a jewelry sales associate and was able to get Mike a job in the warehouse and work with him at Value House. A few years later, while searching the want ads, Linda had seen an ad for a business opportunity to purchase Apollo Hair. Roger took out a second mortgage on the house to purchase the business. Karen would manage the business and she was the star of the local TV ad for their business, that aired late at night. With Linda as the primary hair stylist, Karen and Linda were also able to work together.

At the age of 55, Roger told Karen that she can keep putting hair on men or join him to travel the world during their retirement. They subsequently sold the business, purchased an RV and spent the next 25 years travelling throughout the US and Canada, utilized their timeshare in Hawaii a few times a year, enjoyed over twenty cruises and visited sixty-three countries. In between travels they were able to enjoy spending time with their five granddaughters and one great granddaughter.

In the early 2000's Karen beat lung cancer and breast cancer three times. She persevered through all of those very difficult times with a positive attitude and strong desire to keep living. That prompted her to give back to the community by leading a cancer support group. She volunteered at Rust Hospital as the coffee & drinks lady for a few years. Then she shifted her focus to caregivers for Alzheimer's patients. All of her life experiences enabled her to develop a significant network of friends that she truly cherished.

At the end of January 2025, she made the decision to move into an independent living facility after living in the home she had lived in for 33 years. She was excited to decorate her small apartment the way she wanted with red accents, get to meet new friends and continue to play bunco with her existing friends. Unfortunately, she fell in her new apartment and broke her arm just four days after moving. The chain of events that occurred after that led to a few more hospital visits that prevented her from enjoying her new apartment. As a beloved wife, mother, sister, aunt, grandmother, great grandmother and friend, she passed away peacefully with her immediate family by her side on March 8, 2025.

Karen was preceded in death by her parents Vernal and Dorothy Wagor, sister Pat Ritchie, husband Roger M. Sargent and son Kirk A. Sargent. She is survived by her oldest son Michael R. Sargent, his wife Jan, their three daughters Kali, Taylor, Shannon, and Kali's daughter Natalie. Daughter Linda Wosick, her husband Joe and their two daughters Shelby and her husband Breanon and Erin Provo and her husband Justin.

A memorial service will be held in her honor on April 5, 2025 from 1:00pm - 2:00pm at Mesa View Methodist Church, 4701 Montano Rd NW, Albuquerque, NM 87120.