Karen Denise Bigger Taylor, 50, of Worcester passed away on June 6, 2010 after a 3 year, 9 month courageous battle with metastatic breast cancer. Karen leaves her beloved husband Kevin of 23 years, her dearest son, Curtis and her beautiful daughter, Jan Elyse, all of Bluehill Road, Worcester; mother, Mary A. Hurley of Worcester, brothers, Michael D. Bigger and fiancee Leona Startz of Worcester, Terrance K. Bigger and wife Pamela of Worcester, Thomas B. Hurley and wife Kristin of Milford, NH, Sean M. Hurley of Sutton, and Patrick J. Hurley and wife Pamela of Westborough; sister, Christine A. Quinn and husband Tim of Southbridge; and sister-in-law, Rose M. Bigger of Worcester; and parents-in-law, Donald and Evelyn Taylor of Huntingburg, IN; brother-in-law, Scott Taylor and wife Robyn of Evansville, IN; sister-in-law, Tammy Nigel and husband Tom of Morgantown, IN; Godson, Kyle Quinn of Worcester; and many aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews.
Karen was born and grew up in Worcester around Greenhill Park and Lincoln Street. She is a graduate of North High School, 1978; Quinsigamond Community College, 1980; International Institute of Seville, Spain, 1981; and Worcester State College, 1982; with a Bachelor of Sciences degree in Foreign Languages.
Karen first worked for the Telegram & Gazette for over eight years doing subscription sales. After college she worked for a traveling sales company selling magazine subscriptions throughout the U.S., and met Kevin while he was working in Ohio. Karen left her subscription sales job after 3 weeks and stayed with Kevin in Akron, working there for four months to earn enough money to get back to her dream of teaching English. She then returned to Seville, Spain and spent over 3 years there as an English Instructor. Karen and Kevin went on to have separate lives, but got together again when she returned to live in Worcester for 2 years, working for Beneficial Finance Company. Kevin, a private in the Army, had graduated Army Basic Training at Fort Dix, NJ, when he proposed to her in Philadelphia. He then went to school in Georgia and continued to visit her in Mass. In Nov. 1986, he had orders to transfer to Arizona. With just 3 weeks to prepare, they were married in Lincoln City, IN on December 13, 1986.
The military moved them to Sierra Vista, AZ where Karen became an overachiever salesperson selling trailers for a year until the next military transfer to Pisa, Italy; where they lived for over three years, and both children were born. She worked for the Department of Defense in the Resource Management Office, and volunteered to be the ESL Instructor for the military base, for which she received numerous awards and accommodations. She also held officer positions in the Enlisted Spouses Club and served as President before leaving the military life in Italy. Karen and Kevin came back to the U.S. and lived in Huntingburg, Alexandria and Dale, Indiana for three years while Kevin attended and graduated from ITT. They moved back to Worcester in 1994.
Karen worked for Clariant Corp. as the International Sales Representative for the last 15 years. She could speak, read and write in many foreign languages. Her family traveled to many foreign countries together to visit friends. She never missed a St. Patrick's Day Parade in Worcester and took great pride in her Irish heritage. She loved her annual summer vacation tubing down the Pemi River in N.H. She loved to go fishing, hiking, camping, snorkeling, bird watching and supported the New England Patriots. She loved gardening and always had a beautiful garden of flowers, bushes and fruits in her yard. She loved relaxing in their pool and riding their Goldwing motorcycle. She was always having good times and celebrating life together as a family.
Kevin, Curt and Jan Elyse would like to invite her friends to a memorial reception to be held at their home (6 Bluehill Road) on Saturday, June 19 at 2 PM with a Brazilian BBQ to follow, flowers will be welcomed and appreciated.
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Special thanks to Dr. Jeremy Golding, Dr. Kathryn Edmiston, Dr. Cicchetti, the Levine Cancer Center, and Suzanne Dwinnell, R.N. and Dr. Julia Gallagher of The University of Massachusetts Memorial Hospice.
(As printed in the Telegram & Gazette June 8, 2010)