Obituaries

Karen passed away peacefully on Monday, March 23, 2015. Karen was the glue that held so many friends and family together. She was a superb hostess; nothing flustered her, especially when the party was at her house (remember those post-baseball parties around the pool in North Van and all those family Christmases).

A creative businesswoman with a flair for fashion, she started Second Suit Clothing in 1978 with a bunch of Hawaiian shirts from friends and built it into one of the most successful consignment clothing stores in Vancouver. Karen worked as a fashion model in her earlier years, appearing in print and TV ads and a few movies.
She had a brilliant eye for both garden design and floral arrangements. In 1997 the family moved to a small farm in Oyama where she grew flowers. Karen was a vendor at the Kelowna Farmer's Market for many years and was a master gardener who loved to share her expertise with others.
Despite being very fashion forward and always looking gorgeous, she was the original hippie; she kept chickens, ducks, horses, cats and dogs, spun her own wool and wove it into fabric, made her own jams, jellies and condiments. Karen was a great travel companion, open to trying anything from opera in a church in Puccini's home town in Italy to hiking the hills of Devon, England.

Karen has left behind parents Connie and Elton Anderson, daughters Jaime and Jessica Skinner (Jackson), sisters Kathy (Jim) Lye, Janet Anderson (Douglas MacLeod), Nancy Anderson, Sue Anderson (Jason), nieces Amy Boudreau (Graham Trimble), Heather and Joey Lye, and nephews Dylan Joyce and Jack MacLeod.

Karen is predeceased by her beloved husband Malcolm Skinner (2006) and her loving partner George Tidball (2014).

Karen was a beautiful woman inside and out, loyal, calm, brave, principled, she made everyone better through knowing her. She will always be missed.

Flowers are welcome at the house until April 6; Karen

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