Karen Elaine Jones McCown left earth to be with the Lord and the Church Triumphant on Sunday, April 17, 2011. She fought the good fight and lived fully till the end. She was born Feb. 17, 1942, in Ironton to the late H. Clive and Avanelle Kelley Jones. She is survived by the pride and joy of her life, son, Cmdr. Brigham Anderson McCown USN, his wife Jacquelynn Weirsma McCown and their sons Jack Tucker, William Henry, and Charles Alexander. She is also survived by her sister Lana Jones Moore, and husband Alan; special niece Erin Moore; brother Stephen C. Jones and his wife Kenda; niece Kerri Jones and nephew Marcus S. Jones; her loving Aunt Garnet Davidson Addis, Uncle George Herman Kelley, his wife Phyllis and a host of loving cousins, friends (especially the SOWS) and former co-workers.

Karen graduated from Ironton High School in 1960. She attended Grant Hospital School of Nursing but quit because of illness. She then attended Ashland Business School and married Frank J. McCown in 1962 before he began OSU Law School. She worked at OSU’s Agriculture Extension Service for those three years. Later, she worked in Dr. Dean Massie’s office, and then was a Metropolitan Insurance agent and a Standard Coffee representative before deciding to achieve her lifelong goal of becoming a Registered Nurse. Karen graduated from St. Mary’s School of Nursing in 1996. Following graduation she worked briefly at Lawrence County General Hospital before joining the staff at Our Lady of Bellefonte Hospital where she remained until her retirement in 2007. Even after officially retiring Karen continued to work part-time at Bellefonte.

Karen was a lifelong member of St. Paul Lutheran Church where she was a longtime member of the altar guild and was currently serving on the church council. She had been very active in many organizations over the years including the West Ironton PTC, a volunteer for the Ironton Little League as the official scorer and where she served her special hot dog sauce. She was also an active member of the Green Blades Garden Club and the Ironton Co-op Club where she held many offices through the years. Karen was a former President of the Ironton Council of the Arts and more recently an avid supporter of Ironton in Bloom.

In accordance with her wishes, she will be cremated and a memorial service will be held at St. Paul Lutheran Church on Friday May 6. A reception for family and friends will begin at 5:30 p.m. in the fellowship hall and the service will begin 7:30 p.m. in the sanctuary. The family requests that friends send contributions in her memory to St. Paul Lutheran Church or the American Cancer Society; but if friends desire to send flowers, please send them to the church for the memorial service.