Karen Marie Lightner

It is with heavy hearts that the family of Karen Marie Lightner announces her passing on August 11, 2026, at age 66, under the hospice care of Gilchrist Center Howard County in Columbia, Maryland, after living more than six years with Alzheimer's disease.

Karen (phonetically: KAR-in) was born Karen Marie Sheffer on August 20, 1959, to George Allan Sheffer and Bertha Marie Sheffer (née Tegen), in St. Paul, Minnesota. The middle of five children, Karen grew up in White Bear Lake, MN, Richfield Springs, NY, and Graterford, PA, as her family followed her father's work, with each location providing a warm sense of home. Karen graduated from Perkiomen Valley High School in Graterford in 1977. She then continued her education in upstate New York when she moved back to Richfield Springs with her parents. She earned her associate's degree from Herkimer County Community College (1979), and then both her bachelor's degree (1981) and master's in library science (1983) from Syracuse University. On the very first day of her master's program, she met her beloved, lifelong friend, Lisa.

Karen wanted to be a librarian from a young age and would often ask to "play library" much like other children ask to play house. After graduating from Syracuse, she fulfilled her dream and began her career as Library Director of the Sullivan Free Library in Chittenango and Bridgeport, NY. After several years there, she decided to concentrate on her favorite part of being a librarian and she became Children's Librarian at the Dunham Public Library in Whitesboro, NY. In 1990, she moved Rockville, MD and became a nanny, eventually moving to Orange Park, FL with the family. She returned to Maryland in the mid-1990s where she began her tenure as a librarian at the US Environmental Protection Agency.

On August 6, 2007, she married her sweetheart Harvey Berton Lightner in Spotsylvania, VA, whom she met while working at the EPA. They lived together in Fredericksburg, Virginia for four and a half years, where they were both members of the Chancellor Lions Club. "Bert" was a talented magician and balloon artist who loved to entertain kids of all ages, and Karen enjoyed being magician's assistant, even when it made their outings take a bit longer than usual. As his health deteriorated, Karen was his devoted nurse and caregiver through it all. Bert passed away in 2012, and Karen began working a few non-library jobs that kept her commute closer to home. After being diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in late 2019 Karen "retired early," and she and her niece, Erin, relocated to Burtonsville, MD in 2020 to be geographically closer to her friends and siblings.

Her passions and hobbies included rubber stamping/card-making, crafting, gardening, reading, listening to music, watching TV, and shopping. She will be remembered for her intelligence, thoughtfulness, and strong sense of independence, as well as her smile, laugh, and her love of dessert, George Michael, and ice-cold Coca-Cola.

She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, and her nephew, Chris Good.

She is survived by her brothers and sisters: Karl (Monica) Sheffer of Pottsgrove, PA; Kenneth (Joanna) Sheffer of Spring City, PA; Susan (Gary) Boest of Morris, NY; and Kimberly (Kurt) Wiehenstroer of Deerfield, NY; her sisters-in-law: Becki (John) Chewning of Falmouth, VA and Kathleen (Joel) Lightner Goodman of Herndon, VA; her nieces and nephews: Nicole (Ron), Erin, Daniel, Courtney, Olivia, Patrick, Sarah, Patience, Ashley, and Adam. She also leaves behind an extended family of cousins, grandnieces and grandnephews, as well as kind colleagues, and special friends with whom she shared her life and passions. Her niece, Erin, was honored to be her caregiver throughout her journey with Alzheimer’s, and is relieved that her "aunt Kari" is now at peace.

Her family would like to thank the devoted care teams at Columbia Meadows Assisted Living in Jessup, Easterseals Adult Day Services in Silver Spring, and Gilchrist Hospice in Columbia for the invaluable expertise, care, and love they showed Karen throughout her journey. Erin could not have survived caregiving without you!

Karen chose to be cremated, and a celebration of her life will be held at a future date at the convenience of the family.

In her memory, donations may be made online to the Alzheimer's Association, Easterseals, and/or the Dolly Parton Imagination Library.