Karen Irene Lougee

Karen Irene Lougee of Windham, Maine passed away surrounded by a circle of loved ones on January 8, 2025 following a brief illness. She was born Oct. 7, 1954 to George and Frances Lougee. She spent much of her childhood in Brewer before moving to Portland with her family at age ten. Karen graduated from Deering High School and spent time working at a fabric shop and Portland Public Library before launching her thirty-plus year career as a paralegal at Unum, earning college degrees and raising her children along the way. Karen was the center of a close orbit of family and friends, each of whom felt her immense kindness, care, generosity, humor, and love. She took interest in your interests, championed your successes, soothed your sorrows, and was always present for her family. Her house was often filled with visitors, her door always open to sit and talk, laugh, play a game, ask advice, or just exist alongside her. It was not uncommon to pull into her driveway to find someone else also arriving to stop and say hello. She kept others continuously in mind and constantly showed small actions of care, whether that be cooking a favorite Thanksgiving dessert to share with a special niece, picking up small gifts that made her think of you, or a simple call or note to check in or share a laugh. She equally enjoyed sharing her own interests ranging from camping weekends and day trips, hosting her book club, making quilts for family members, tending her flowers and bird feeders, and most of all, reading. An avid reader, Karen loved the written word and the power of story, particularly historical fiction. She was never far from a book and regularly exceeded reading over 100 titles a year. From childhood, Karen was especially fascinated by English and Scottish history. She was thrilled to be able to travel twice to the U.K., touring Scotland with her husband and England with her daughter, stopping at every castle possible along the way. She enjoyed learning her family history and was thrilled to discover a direct connection to a noble Elizabethan era family at Dudley Castle in her genealogy. From then on she carried a glint in her eye when asking her husband Gerry for assistance with any particularly pesky tasks or projects, calling herself “Lady Karen” while doing so. Her love of books and history coalesced when she joined the Windham Historical Society after retiring from Unum. She joined the Society’s Board, serving as Secretary and on the Programs Committee. She enthusiastically stewarded the restoration of the original Windham Center Library building for the Society’s Village Green, proudly completing this large and complex project in the fall of 2024. She worked very hard to restore the library and has left this piece of Windham history as her lasting gift to the community. Karen had a boundless love for life and threw herself into adventures big and small. Some of her favorites included spending time at Baxter State Park with her husband, annual Girls’ Weekend trips with her closest friends, day trips with her daughter to historic homes, evenings around the campfire with her sons, establishing beloved holiday traditions of attending the Nutcracker or Christmas Carol, and hosting everyone for boisterous Christmas mornings. She encouraged her children in their own individual interests, working the concession stand at her son Wesley’s baseball games, creating magic by arranging to send her son Brett to a landmark football game, and delighting in a shared love of books with her daughter Kate. She took enormous joy in her grandchildren, gaining a wide knowledge of monster trucks and construction vehicles from the youngest and enjoying long talks with the oldest, proudly watching them grow. Little compared to the excitement and fun of sleepovers at Grams’ house for them all. She is deeply loved and missed by her husband, Gerry Campbell; son Brett Jacobs (Wendy); son Wesley Jacobs (Abby); daughter Kate Jacobs; daughter Ashley Cardurns; grandchildren Samantha, Tyler, Quinn, Corbin, Lizzy, Birch, and Agate; great-grandson Carter; sister Susan Lougee; brother Chip Lougee; nieces, nephews, and her chosen family of friends. All are privileged and lucky to have known her. Karen’s family asks that you keep her in your thoughts. Remember her by diving into a good book, picking lilacs in the spring, and sharing a laugh and a tight hug with those you love most. Her family invites you to a Celebration of Life to honor our treasured mother, wife, grandmother, Tanny, and friend on Thursday, January 16 at the Little Meetinghouse, 719 Roosevelt Trail, Windham. Informal visiting hours will be held from 2:00pm - 4:00pm with a period of sharing stories about Karen to follow in which you are encouraged to share. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Windham Historical Society (https://www.windhamhistorical.org).

Karen Irene Lougee

October 7, 1954 - January 8, 2025