Karen Sue Shaw

Indianapolis, Indiana to James Tanner and Katie

Seagraves-Tanner. She was the first born of five

children from this union.

As a young girl, Karen had a brilliant mind and was

a natural born leader. She attended Public Schools

#23 and #17 prior to entering Crispus Attucks High

School where she became a Drum Majorette. She was

known as Miss Congeniality and was one of the most

popular, stylish and down-to-earth people you could

ever meet. She had a beautiful, angelic singing voice

and was a member of the then popular, all-female

singing group named The Tri-Dells.

After graduating high school, Karen did her

undergraduate work at Ball State University before

relocating to Los Angeles in 1969 to complete her BS

Degree in Marketing and Transportation at California

State University at Los Angeles where she achieved

“Who’s Who in America” status. She would later

continue her education with an MBA Degree from

Pepperdine University.

Karen began working at GTE at the tender age of 19,

where her career blossomed for 30 years until taking

early retirement. Not one to sit still for long, Karen

returned to the workforce as the Executive Director

of a literacy non- profit group and later became the

Director of Economic Development and Human

Needs for the City of Everett, Washington.

Full of compassion, Karen loved to be active in her

community, had a strong work ethic and was an

accomplished leader.

On January 25, 1986, Karen married the love of her

life, Donald B. Shaw, and a power union was formed.

The couple, along with their daughter Nikki, relocated

to the Pacific Northwest in 1991, to start a new life

chapter. Their hard work, dedication and persistence

paid off, and they became the proud owners of five

McDonalds franchises, winning numerous awards for

“beating McDonald’s competitors”.

To Karen, friendships were “golden” and she

was extremely successful in cultivating lifelong

partnerships, both personally and professionally.

With her genuine spirit and beautiful smile, she

strived for the gold standard in everything she did,

and she expected the same from all around her. She

left a lasting imprint on the hearts of everyone she

met. When she wasn’t traveling or entertaining, she

loved to cook and even took up golf lessons. She

enjoyed life to the fullest.