David A. Karns, 81, from Anacortes, passed away on October 28th, 2022, after residing at Lighthouse Memory Care for the past 10 months. Dave was born in Passaic, New Jersey on September 21, 1941.
He graduated from High School in 1960 and went to Community College in California before he joined the Air Force in 1963 and worked in radio communications for the next eight years. While stationed in Misawa AB, Japan, he met his future wife Lynn in 1969 while she was teaching at the same base. When he left the AF in 1971, he drove to Florida and married Lynn and they both drove out to Phoenix, Arizona where he was going to school at DeVry Institute of Technology for the next three years. He received a B.S. in Electronics Technology and went to work for Sperry Flight Systems which eventually sold to Honeywell. He worked as a Senior Lab Technician in Research and Development in the Space Division for the next 31 years. He loved his job and looked forward to work every day.
Six years after their move to AZ, Dave became a dad to daughter Jenny. He was an active father who loved to be involved in his daughter’s life. He helped her with homework, taught her how to ride a bike and hold her nose under water, attended every school play, loved traveling with Jenny and Lynn, and was always available to help with school and creative projects.
After Jenny had left for college, Dave and Lynn found Anacortes while traveling and fell in love with a beautiful town. They moved up as soon as they both retired. Dave had introduced photography to Lynn in Japan, and she grew quite passionate about it. They both loved traveling around the northwest and the country looking at nature and wildlife, taking pictures and eating in new and different places. Dave was incredibly patient waiting for Lynn to get just the right shot.
Dave enjoyed participating and watching sports. He was a swimmer in high school, and a skier in Japan. After he retired, he loved rowing with OARS in Anacortes. Living in Phoenix he was an enthusiastic Phoenix Suns fan but switched to watching the Seattle Seahawks when he moved north. He loved listening to jazz and NPR and could fix just about anything around the house, but his skills were not limited to that. He was also creative in the arts such as stained glass, pottery, wood working and computer art. He enjoyed making posters for Jenny, Lynn, and the church and was a gifted sound board engineer and recorded a number of albums through Bethany Presbyterian Church under the name “DAK Productions.”
Dave and Lynn joined several organizations in Anacortes including Kiwanis and Newcomers. Dave enjoyed working at the Kiwanis shop and volunteering to clean a section of Highway 20 bi-monthly with Newcomers. He was a very social guy so loved all the activities he participated in with his organizations and his church.
He was a dedicated father, devoted Christian, and loving husband. His love language was “doing” for others, and he had a beautiful servant’s heart. He gave himself to the church as an elder and deacon. He was a “light soul” traveling through this world with no baggage, no regrets, few judgements, and no grudges. He could forgive easily and forget quickly. He never met a stranger and he liked everyone he met. He loved making people laugh. He loved animals and children, especially his daughter, and they and she loved his playfulness. He was smart but never pretentious.
He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2006 and although he had little to no trouble with it for 10 years, the disease began to cause more and more problems. He was in a Parkinson’s support group and participated in Parkinson’s dance in Anacortes. Eventually, he went to live at the Lighthouse Memory Care and Assisted Living at the end of 2021.
He leaves behind his wife of 51 years, Lynn, daughter Jenny Karns from Studio City, CA, and sister Judy, in Dewey, Arizona as well as two nephews, Jeff and Todd and numerous great nieces and nephews.
A Celebration of Life service will be held at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Anacortes on December 3 at 1 p.m.