Karen Zabriskie Edwards

Karen Zabriskie Edwards passed away peacefully at the age of 87 in Provo, Utah. She was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, neighbor, and friend. Karen was born on December 28, 1937, in Richfield, Utah, the third child of Grant John Zabriskie and Mildred Nielson Zabriskie.

When she was a small child, the family moved to Provo, Utah. When she was five years old, she contracted polio, but she was fortunate that, through the diligence of her mother and grandmother, she survived it better than most. She did, however, suffer with some leg weakness that continued throughout her life. But she didn’t let it stop her and led a very active life, including hiking to the top of Mt. Timpanogos and the “Y” on Y Mountain.

Karen and the family eventually settled in Orem on a small dairy farm. Here she learned about hard work from her hard-working parents. It was a lot of work but also a great place to be a kid with trees to climb, places to explore, and a gully with a rope swing. It was in that gully that she met a young boy who would one day be her best friend, husband, and eternal companion, Clyde Lavell Edwards Jr.

They started dating when she was a sophomore. They married three years later, on November 7, 1955, in the Salt Lake Temple. Together, they created a beautiful life and a rowdy family of four boys: Byron, Jerry, Robert, and Grant. There was no greater joy in her life than her family.

When Clyde started having some health problems, Karen went back to school. At 40 years old she continued her education at BYU, got her Bachelor’s degree in education, and started teaching at Bonneville Elementary in Orem. After two years of teaching, she applied again to BYU and was accepted into the Master’s program. She graduated with a degree in Educational Psychology and was certified by the state of Utah as a school counselor. She was 47. She worked at Mt. View High School in Orem as a school counselor until her retirement. A job she truly loved.

After retirement, she and Clyde served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Charlotte, North Carolina. She loved serving the Lord and said, “It was a wonderful time together, doing the Lord’s work.”

Karen served in many church callings, including Primary President, Stake Relief Society Presidency, Regional Welfare Committee, Ward Relief Society President, Stake Missionary Preparation Teacher, Temple Worker, Ward Family History Consultant, and Coordinator of the General Relief Society Conference Women’s Choir.

Karen had great leadership and organizational skills and was able to accomplish tasks that seemed unachievable. One of the most challenging was the head of a Bunny and Bear project for BYU Woman’s Conference, where she was able to produce, through donation and donated time, 15,000 stuffed teddy bears for different children’s agencies and emergency rooms.

She also was a skilled artist. Through hours of time and patience, she has created beautiful portraits and pictures with wax colored pencil, a very slow and tedious medium to work with. They will be treasured for generations.

Karen’s primary focus has always been on her family. Her superpower was love. She loved nothing more than spending time with her boys and their families. She was very fortunate to have such devoted sons and daughters-in-law. She will be sorely missed, but her legacy will live on.

Karen is survived by her sons, Byron (DeeAnn) Edwards, Jerry (Julie) Edwards, Robert (Alana) Edwards, and Grant (Denise) Edwards. Siblings, John (Carol) Zabriskie and Judy (Len) Huntington, and Sister-in-law Joann Zabriskie. Fourteen grandchildren, 25 great-grandchildren, and numerous nieces and nephews who love her dearly.

She is preceded in death by her sweetheart, Clyde Lavell Edwards Jr.; parents, Grant John Zabriskie and Mildred Nielson Zabriskie; brother, Rod Zabriskie; sister, Marilynn Zabriskie Nielson; brother-in-law, Richard Nielson; and grandson, Byron Edwards Jr.

Funeral Services will be held Thursday, March 13, 2025 at 11:00 am at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 56 E. 600 N., Lindon, UT, where a Viewing will be held prior from 10:00 am to 10:45 am. Interment will be in the East Lawn Memorial Hills Cemetery, Provo, Utah