Karen Burt Obituary

Karen Dee Burt was born on October 3, 1937, in Blythedale, Missouri, to Roy William Allman and Edith Ellen Moore Allman. Karen passed away on September 2, 2023, at the age of 85. She was preceded in death by her parents and by her brother, Clark Leroy Allman. She is survived by her husband of 67 years, Donald Clarence Burt, her children, Michael Burt (Mary) and Susan Lynch (David), her sister, Diana Anderson (James) and her brother, Stephen Craig Allman (Kathleen). Visitation will be 1:00 p. m. Friday, September 8, 2023 with funeral service to follow at 2:00 p. m. at The First Baptist Church of Grain Valley. Grain Valley, Missouri. Interment in Valley Memorial Gardens, Grain Valley, MO. Karen was raised in Blythedale, Missouri, until moving to Northern Heights in Parkville, Mo, in 1947. She graduated from Park Hill High School in 1955, which is where she met her husband, Don. Karen and Don were married at the Northern Heights Baptist Church on April 21, 1956. They were proud of their five grandchildren: Mike and Mary's children, Jennifer, Jeremy and Joshua, and Dave and Susan's children, David Jr. and Katherine. They also had fourteen precious great-grandchildren. Faith was an important part of Karen's life. Over the course of her years, she served the church as an alto in choir, through teaching preschool Sunday School using Winkie the Bear and flannel graph stories on backgrounds that she designed, participated in church visitation, helped with crafts and cookies at VBS for many years, and sang special music selections in church, often in duets with Don. Karen and Don had many friendships with other church families through the years and enjoyed socializing with them and playing games together. Karen's first job was serving ice cream at an ice cream shop. After completing secretarial training, Karen worked for an insurance company and then stayed home for a few years to raise children. For many years, she worked as church secretary at Glenwood Baptist Temple. Later she worked in the accounting department at Townley Hardware in Kansas City, and ended her working career working at Calvary Bible College in the accounting office. Many hobbies and passions were enjoyed by Karen throughout her years. She was skilled at many crafts, including making doll clothes and children's clothes, crocheting, rug-making, quilting, and others. For several years, she made beautiful scented and decorative candles. Karen enjoyed gardening and canning, as well as growing flowers and flowering plants such as peonies, daylilies, tulips, lily of the valley and lilac bushes. She loved to travel and planned annual summer vacations; she enjoyed planning routes using her beloved maps and building activity boxes to keep her kids busy in the back seat. Karen delighted in going to antique shops and collected many antiques over the years; she also couldn't pass up a garage sale and found great pleasure in finding treasures for everyone in her circle. Besides collecting antiques, Karen amassed a large collection of around 300 nutcrackers. Karen was a good cook, and was known for her cinnamon red hot apple cobbler and other delicious treats. In her free time, Karen could always be found with a book in one hand and a Diet Pepsi close by. Her avid love of reading was passed on to her children, encouraged not only by her example, but by frequent trips to the library. Particularly in the winter months, Karen and Don enjoyed many hours putting together jigsaw puzzles. Obituary submitted by the family.