Karen Lynn Maddy

Karen was born Karen Lynn Weber in Tachikawa, Japan. Her father, Robert was a member of the U.S. Air force. After leaving Japan, he was stationed in Austin, TX and Vandenberg, CA. After retiring in 1969, the Weber family moved to Phoenix, AZ. Karen graduated from Moon Valley High School in 1977. She also attended Glendale Community College. After working thru high school at Diamonds Metro Center and then a Sun Glass shop in Scottsdale, she set the course for the rest of her career. After moving to San Diego, she became an optician and after later moving to the Dallas area, she went to work for an eyewear manufacturer, Marchon. She led North Texas Optician Society as President. She married JD Maddy in 1987. Karen stayed in the eye care business nearly all of her career. Karen also loved to volunteer. She volunteered with Habitat for Humanity in Phoenix and then the Verde Valley. She went on to become executive director of the Verde Valley Chapter. She then volunteered with Rusty’s Morning Star Ranch, a place that cared for adults with autism. She then went to volunteer and work for the Clarkdale Fire District and also the Verde Valley District as the two merged. She also still volunteered for her Church in Phoenix sewing quilts with the Sew and Sews. Over the years, she sewed hundreds of quilts for the Sew and Sews to finish and tie off. But her volunteering didn’t stop there. She was a member of the Astronomers of Verde Valley for 26 years as outreach coordinator. She would do astronomy programs alongside her husband JD for the local communities and well as being a volunteer astronomer for the Arizona State Parks and the National Park Service as a Master VIP Astronomer. In 2011, Karen was given a Volunteer of the Year award for the Arizona State Parks. In 2018 she received an Award of Excellence from Keep Sedona Beautiful for her efforts in preserving Dark Skies. In Karen’s spare time, she loved to work in the garden. She had many varieties of cactus, but her favorite was the Iris flower. She maintained over 20 varieties in many colors.

Karen was preceded in death by her Father Robert Weber, her Mother Mary Weber and her sister-in-law Ruth Maddy. Left behind to cherish her memories are her husband JD Maddy, her sister Brenda Weber, her brother-in-law Robert Maddy, her stepson Arron Maddy, her son in law Haqumai Waring-Sharp and her grandson Joseph Maddy.

Celebration of Life will be held on Sept 6th, 2025, at St Andrews Lutheran Church, 3101 W Cholla St, Phoenix, AZ. 11AM to 1PM.