Alice Godfrey (Andrus)

The emails through the day Friday, February 14, grew more foreboding. Yet, when I went to bed, not knowing when Karen would be out of surgery, I was sure she would pull out of it and be back "on track." Early on Saturday, shortly after midnight, the surgeons ceased their hours long effort to get her breathing on her own after a successful surgery. Her friend, Ricci, sent her now well-read email to Karen's myriad friends. What followed was an outpouring of love and admiration to a devoted friend. 

Karen was the all-time greatest reunion director. The voluminous details of each reunion are preserved in large colorful binders. I inhereited them from Susie Fickel Kroeger. Now I know that they all must be sent to the college archives as examples of how to plan reunions with love and fellowship. Her management of our 50th reunion is the most memorable.

Do you know that she called Rayna Rosenberg and arranged for Rayna to make a one of a kind scarf for us? Do you know that she fought hard for the Hospitality Cafe where we could gather, informally, at anytime?  That wasn't easy because the Alumnae Association was resistant. She persisted, raising some ire for her "demands." We even had to pay for running the electric line to heat the coffee urns which she bought for the occasion. In the early mornings, she and Ken Briers (Mr. Sally Donner) drove to the Big Y supermarket to pick up the morning buns. Lights had to be strung creating an inviting welcome for our classmates. She was all over the place seeing to every detail, adding more classmates to the team, creating a masterpiece. How well she deserved that Loyalty Award and how she cherished it. 

Mount Holyoke had an alumna who was its model, as much as Breck had in the beautiful portrait of her they created when she was a teenager. Talking with Mirja Perkko Muncy today, I learned that Karen was feted by the small classmate group who put on our mini-reunion in California. At their first get-together, Karen offered to create a seven sisters group so that they could build community in the northern Cal area without having to travel to San Francisco. Mirja said Karen promised to start working on it as soon as the surgery was behind her. She was gong to be following through. She had plans. 

Jennifer Macdonald (DeWolf)

I am certain that the marquees on every theater around the country are lit with "RIP" Karen.  Every classmate, thespian and tennis partner is deeply saddened by the loss of their friend.  I am fortunate to have been one of them.

Stephanie Smith

This is such sad news and I am having such a hard time processing it.   KK was, in many ways, the heart of our class and we will all miss her and her boundless energy.

Barbara Heymann (Goldberg)

Karen had a warm and generous heart.  All who knew her have emphasized that.  It's ironic her heart was, at the end,  the very organ that failed.  Throughout her life she had a contagious joie de vivre, and kept herself fit and vigorous.  The last memories of Karen were, indeed, of the 50 reunion.  That, and junior show, where some genius (maybe Karen?) paired me with Sally Donner to sing "You Were Wrong, Kaatie Glibbs You Were Wrong!"  That was the short and tall of it, one of my favorite college events.

Cynthia Rapp (Curry-Nilson)

Karen's death is an unexpected and stunning loss for all of us.  Memories of reunions, junior show and her incredible presence and grace fill my mind.   She was an icon of positive creativity until the end.  Her legacy will live on in our hearts.   

Ellen Strauss (Boer)

It is hard to write about such a vivacious ,caring ,optimistic and loving person not being with us anymore. Karen and I roomed together for two years in Prospect and continued to keep in contact and see each other for more than 50 years.  I have a wonderful picture of the two of us at my house in Greenwich at an MHC function in the eighties.  I  will try to find it and post it.  We worked together on our Fiftieth and her creativity and enthusiasm was contagious.  Her generosity even when she did  not have an excess of wealth was remarkable.  She loved the people in our class ,made numerous close friends and delighted us all with her energy and escapades.  MHC 1963 was part of her identity. While her passing is tragic, I am grateful she did not have to suffer a long or debilitating illness.I like to think she left us singing................... 

Karel Mortenson (Koenig)

What joy in her caring, personal depth, and energy, Karen brought good times to me on every occasion! Thank you, Karen

Beverley Brown (Bryant)

Karen will always be in my heart. She was a bright and shining star who lit up our time in South Hadley and during the years since. Bright, capable, and an amazing leader, Karen held the highest standards of excellence for herself and well as for the others she so ably guided with nurturing and care. I feel proud and fortunate to have known her, and am grateful for that experience. Karen, you are deeply missed.

Susan Fickel (Kroeger)

Working on our 50th with Karen created such a trove of happy memories - drives from Bedford to South Hadley, festive dinners with local classmates, learning that like a Floridian she ate a WHOLE grapefruit every morning, not sliced, just peeled.  I loved hearing about her "kids", the four young people she had adopted after their parents, friends in her NYC world, both died young.  Karen had been surrogate mother to them ever since, following each step of their lives.  I remember her enthusiasm for every detail of reunion planning, and her eagerness that it be a real SHOW.  She was an idea factory, a gifted production manager, with both hands on every aspect of the event.  She was remarkable for her enthusiasm about the College, and also for her genuine fondness for all of us.  We based in the warmth of her friendship, glad we had her for as long as we did.

Sally Nunneley

60th Reunion: Mary Ann Searles Weiss remembers Karen Kayser Benson

Most everyone here could speak about Karen. She was a complex person who most of us admired and loved dearly. Most of us also experienced times when she dismayed or at least annoyed us a little. She was flamboyant, but at times quite pensive. She reminded me of Auntie Mame—Glamorous, feisty, generous and down to earth.

We recall her dressing in luscious drapey dresses and pantsuits, but also occasionally showing up unexpectedly in sweatpants, tee shirt and no makeup.

She was a diva who knew all the best places to eat in New York before the theater, but she also was a homebody who enjoyed cooking, decorating her house, and sewing up a storm when a costume was needed.

She was a casting director in New York for most of her working life and it was fun that it seemed every coat check person and waiter in New York fussed over her.

She was the picture of health who rode a bike across Massachusetts and played tennis almost every day, but actually, she had serious health problems most of her life, even back when we were at Holyoke.

But where she was clear with no conflict at all was her love of the theater and her love of Mount Holyoke, South Hadley, and of all of us, her classmates.

We, her classmates and oldest friends, miss her, especially at the reunion time. She was always involved in our reunions and chair of our 50th and others. I know the alumnae office rolled their respective eyes at some of her ideas like a tent with electricity on the green, but we know she made our reunions better every time.  She was a recipient of the Alumnae Loyalty Award.

She was a dear friend to me and my family, and I know to many of you as well. She was my daughter Katie’s Godmother and she was at many of our family special occasions like our 50th anniversary party in New Harmony, Indiana.