Karen M Morse

Our beloved mother, grandmother, and friend Karen Havener Morse passed away suddenly at her home in Perrysburg on October 9, 2015. Her passing has made us all tragically aware of how precious and fragile life can be. Karen was born in Bellevue, Ohio on January 11, 1940 to Merryl and Arlene Havener, both of whom are predeceased. She grew up in Bellevue and Fremont before settling in Perrysburg in the late 1950’s. Karen graduated from Perrysburg High School in 1958. She was married to John Morse in 1960 and they are the parents of three children. When they moved back to Perrysburg and the children reached school age, Karen became secretary at St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church in Perrysburg. In the early 1970’s, she joined WGTE Channel 30 as Volunteer Coordinator. In addition to fund raising activities, Karen’s major project was the annual Great Channel 30 Buy-In. Besides the wellbeing of her children and grandchildren, Karen’s greatest concern was drug and alcohol addiction. She became director of public relations for the Alcohol and Drug Treatment Center of the Toledo Hospital. She worked tirelessly to help people find treatment for their addictions. Her expertise in the area of employee assistance program brought her to Workplace Resources, and even at the age of 75, she was employed with Glenbeigh HealthCare. Karen’s devotion to helping others with addiction issues continued outside the workplace. She was a 35-year member of Al-Anon of Perrysburg and every Wednesday attended and often led a meeting at the Presbyterian Church. She was elected to represent the area at many regional and national seminars. In her free time, Karen spent countless hours watching her seven grandchildren participate in numerous sporting events at Perrysburg High School and Notre Dame Academy as well as with travel teams. Karen truly loved her month-long stay every summer at the family cottage in Lake Winola, Pa. She was often teased about being packed a month in advance. She will be sorely missed by all her relatives and friends at the Lake. If Karen had an addiction, it was to the Detroit Tigers. Karen watched EVERY game on TV and could recite all the team’s and individual statistics. We will miss her texting us updates on scores, her Tiger wardrobe, and the huge English D on the back of her Jeep. Karen was also a devout Ohio State Buckeye fan. Karen is survived by her ex-husband John Morse (Perrysburg), children Dr. Bradley Morse (Perrysburg), Renee Morse (Ft. Lauderdale), and Brian (Jill) Morse (Perrysburg); and grandchildren Nick, Ted, Meredith, Alex, Bella, Maggie and Isabel. She is survived by her sister Merlene Dickinson (Oregon, OH) and brother Bill Havener (Rosemark, TN). Karen will be dearly missed by her sister-in-law Meredith (Morse) Prime (Perrysburg-Lake Placid, NY) Family and friends will be received at Witzler Shank Funeral Home, 222 E. South Boundary St. Perrysburg, Ohio (419-874-3133) on Thursday, October 15, 2015 from 3:00 PM-8:00 PM. A memorial service will be held at the funeral home on Friday, October 16 at 10:00 AM. In lieu of flowers the family requests donation be made in Karen’s memory to Al-Anon or a charity of choice. Online condolences may be left at www. witzlershank.com