Karen Lynn Basham
April 27, 1968 — January 6, 2005
Karen Lynn Basham, of Eureka, died Thursday, January 6, 2005, at her home from complications with Lou Gehrig’s Disease.
She was born in Concordia, Kansas on April 27, 1968, the daughter of Ralph and Joyce Spiegel. Karen was educated in the Jewell – Randall school system. She was a 1986 recipient of the Harry Gore Scholarship at Wichita State University, the Kansas Elks Scholarship and the Dane G. Hansen Scholarship. She was a member of the Blue Key National Honor Society, SPURS sophomore honorary and several other academic fraternities while attending WSU. She graduated in 1990, with a degree in elementary education.
While working for WSU President Warren Armstrong, Karen met Mark Basham. They married June 15, 1991 at Eastminister Presbyterian Church in Wichita. She taught for the Omaha, Nebraska public schools until 1995. Karen and Mark lived in Omaha, Nebraska, Fort Calhoun, Nebraska, Salina and Eureka. They have three children.
Karen became a Christian as a teenager. She believed deeply in Jesus Christ and lived her life according to His word. Devotions, prayer and scripture were important elements of each day she spent on this Earth. She attended the Neal Free Evangelical Church in Neal and cherished teaching her children about her Faith.
Karen had a number of interests, including scrapbooking, reading, and antiquing. She was an avid sports fan and enjoyed cheering for Wichita State University, Kansas State University, and the Kansas City Chiefs.
Karen’s family and friends brought her great happiness. She enjoyed occasions when family and friends would visit, celebrating events with food and merriment. Karen’s sense of humor and laughter were contagious as she regaled visitors with jokes and stories.
She was preceded in death by her mother. Survivors include her husband , Doctor Mark Basham, M.D., of the home and three children: Abigail, 9, Nathanael, 7, and Peter, 4. Other survivors include her father, Ralph Spiegel, of Beloit; sisters, Susan Ross, of Dravosburg, Pennsylvania, Barbara Paxson, of Mission, and Gretchen Spiegel, Arkansas City, brother, Bill Spiegel, of Manhattan; four nieces and one nephew.
Visitation will be held from 5:00 to 7:00 P.M., Sunday, January 9, 2005, at Koup Family Funeral Home in Eureka. Funeral services will be held at 11:00 A.M., Monday, January 10, 2005, at the Christ Lutheran Church in Eureka.
Memorials have been established in her name to the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Association/Keith Worthington Chapter of Wichita or the Greenwood County Hospital Home Health and Hospice. Contributions may be sent in care of Koup Family Funeral Home, P.O. Box 595, Eureka, Kansas 67045.
She was born in Concordia, Kansas on April 27, 1968, the daughter of Ralph and Joyce Spiegel. Karen was educated in the Jewell – Randall school system. She was a 1986 recipient of the Harry Gore Scholarship at Wichita State University, the Kansas Elks Scholarship and the Dane G. Hansen Scholarship. She was a member of the Blue Key National Honor Society, SPURS sophomore honorary and several other academic fraternities while attending WSU. She graduated in 1990, with a degree in elementary education.
While working for WSU President Warren Armstrong, Karen met Mark Basham. They married June 15, 1991 at Eastminister Presbyterian Church in Wichita. She taught for the Omaha, Nebraska public schools until 1995. Karen and Mark lived in Omaha, Nebraska, Fort Calhoun, Nebraska, Salina and Eureka. They have three children.
Karen became a Christian as a teenager. She believed deeply in Jesus Christ and lived her life according to His word. Devotions, prayer and scripture were important elements of each day she spent on this Earth. She attended the Neal Free Evangelical Church in Neal and cherished teaching her children about her Faith.
Karen had a number of interests, including scrapbooking, reading, and antiquing. She was an avid sports fan and enjoyed cheering for Wichita State University, Kansas State University, and the Kansas City Chiefs.
Karen’s family and friends brought her great happiness. She enjoyed occasions when family and friends would visit, celebrating events with food and merriment. Karen’s sense of humor and laughter were contagious as she regaled visitors with jokes and stories.
She was preceded in death by her mother. Survivors include her husband , Doctor Mark Basham, M.D., of the home and three children: Abigail, 9, Nathanael, 7, and Peter, 4. Other survivors include her father, Ralph Spiegel, of Beloit; sisters, Susan Ross, of Dravosburg, Pennsylvania, Barbara Paxson, of Mission, and Gretchen Spiegel, Arkansas City, brother, Bill Spiegel, of Manhattan; four nieces and one nephew.
Visitation will be held from 5:00 to 7:00 P.M., Sunday, January 9, 2005, at Koup Family Funeral Home in Eureka. Funeral services will be held at 11:00 A.M., Monday, January 10, 2005, at the Christ Lutheran Church in Eureka.
Memorials have been established in her name to the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Association/Keith Worthington Chapter of Wichita or the Greenwood County Hospital Home Health and Hospice. Contributions may be sent in care of Koup Family Funeral Home, P.O. Box 595, Eureka, Kansas 67045.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Karen Lynn Basham, please visit our flower store.