Sharon Karr, a longtime employee at Emporia State University and the wife of one-time local legislator Jerry Karr, passed away Thursday at the age of 80.
Born near Beloit, Karr attended College of Emporia before received her bachelor’s degree from Kansas State University in 1959. After marrying Jerry Karr, the couple moved to Belleville, Ill., and later spent time in Sierra Leone and Ohio before returning to Emporia, where Sharon Karr began a job in Emporia State’s Department of Psychology in 1976. Karr rose to professor emeritus at ESU and was an active member of the Kansas Association of School Psychologists, which bestowed its Lifetime Achievement Award on Karr in 2004.
The Karrs were active in politics at the state and local level, with Jerry Karr serving the 17th Senate District for 18 years and Sharon Karr running a campaign for the same seat in 2004. She also served a precinct committeewoman for Fremont Township.
Besides her academic and political careers, Karr had a varied list of professional and community service projects, including memberships in the Kansas Association of School Psychologists, Lyon County Extension Council, 4-H project cooking leader and representative on the Farm Service Agency appeals board. A member of Americus Methodist Church, Karr also served as a lay leader for the Flinthills District of Methodist Churches.
Karr is survived by her husband, one son, one daughter, two sisters and nine grandchildren.
Visitation will be from 7-8 pm Tuesday at Roberts-Blue-Barnett Funeral Home. Funeral services will be held 2 pm Wednesday at Emporia’s First United Methodist Church. Interment will follow at Rosean Cemetery.
Memorials can be made to the Sharon Karr Scholarship in care of the Emporia State Foundation, Hand in Hand Hospice or Americus Methodist Church. All contributions can be sent to Roberts-Blue-Barnett.
