I have been privileged to have known Karen almost my whole life. We played together often from around 3 to 8 growing up in Littleton, MA. It was a great childhood there and some of my first and best memories are playing at the lake, the playground at the Walsh's home. From an early age she had a charisma that drew people to her. It certainly drew me. Looking back it doesn't surprise me that she became an actress. We often pretended to be superheroes or play house.
Although distance and the different paths our life took caused us to not see each other often, I always looked forward to spending time with and catching up on our lives. It always seemed like we could pick up right where we left off even if it was years in between seeing each other. I'll always remember her smile, laughter and unbreakable positive spirit.