Karen Packer

Karen G. Packer, 67, of 1401 Fairway Drive in Marshalltown, Iowa, died June 5, 2007, at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City, Iowa. A memorial service will take place at 10:30 a.m. at the First Congregational Church, 312 West Main Street, Marshalltown, Iowa, on Friday, June 8. Co-officiating will be the Revs. Greg Ellcey, Barry Holmes and Charles Packer. Friends may call at the Mitchell Funeral Home, 1209 West Iowa Avenue, in Marshalltown on Thursday, June 7, from 5-7 p.m. A private interment ceremony will occur at a later date. Memorials may be given to the Marshalltown Cancer Support Group or the Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center of the University of Iowa Foundation. For condolences, please visit www.mitchellfh.com. The Mitchell Family Funeral Home is caring for Karen and her family. Ph 641-844-1234.Born April 27, 1940, in Washington, DC, to Theodore and Evelyn Gilliland, Karen graduated from Ramey Air Force Base High School, Puerto Rico, in 1957. Throughout her early life, she lived in Washington, DC; Puerto Rico; Boscawen, New Hampshire; and Corpus Christi, Texas. Karen attended Duke University and later the University of Kentucky, where she majored in zoology. From 1961-1962, Karen worked as a stewardess for Caribbean Airline flights out of San Juan, Puerto Rico. It was during this time that she met future husband, pilot Allan Packer, with whom she was married on September 27, 1962 in San Juan. Until 1975, Karen lived in numerous locations across the country as a military spouse.Moving to Marshalltown, Iowa, in 1978, Karen worked as a cancer researcher from 1981 until 1986 for the University of Iowa. Since 1987, she has been the co-founder, leader, and organizer of the Marshalltown Cancer Support Group, a volunteer effort that has provided educational, emotional, and spiritual support to area cancer patients and their families for twenty years. Karen has held membership in the New York Academy of Sciences, and has been involved nationally with the National Alliance of Breast Cancer Organizations (NABCO) and the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCS). From September 2001 June 2004, she served as a member of the Directors Consumer Liaison Group of the National Cancer Institute. Included among the Marquis Whos Who in Science and Engineering in the 1992-1993 edition, Karen also received the Hero Award from Coping Magazine, being named Volunteer of the Year for 1995.Locally, Karen has been active in the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Spinning Wheel Chapter, the First Congregational Church, the Marshall County Taxpayers Group, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Womens Auxiliary, in which she has held the position of Cancer Chair for many years. She has served terms on the Marshall County Board of Health and the Community Nursing Service board, on which she was serving as chairperson at the time of her death. As an outreach of the Marshalltown Cancer Support Group, Karen initiated and maintained for several years an area Cancer Resource Center, which supplies literature, wigs, turbans, scarves and other items to cancer patients. In addition, the Support Group has sponsored a National Cancer Survivors Day celebration annually each June. Throughout the past twenty years, Karen has been a tireless advocate for grassroots programs that enhance, improve, and promote effective health care on a local basis.Survivors include her husband Allan Packer of Marshalltown, Iowa; son, Rev. Charles Packer, of Rockwood, Michigan; step-son Paul (Julianne) Packer, of Marshalltown; brother Clinton (Mary) Gilliland, of Menlo Park, California; two nieces, Elizabeth Gilliland, of San Jose, California, and Sara Gilliland, of Anaheim, California; two granddaughters, Jenni Packer, of Iowa City, Iowa, and Sarah (Blake) Latham, of Davenport, Iowa; and a great-granddaughter, Madelyn Latham, of Davenport.Karen was preceded in death by her parents.