Steve's mom, Karen Denise Perry (Sumrow) peacefully passed away on January 9th, 2008 at her home in Prescott, after a year long battle with cancer. I think that the best thing to post would be what Steve wrote and somehow, amazingly, was able to read at his mothers funeral... honey I know how hard this is on you, and I want you to know that I think you are such a rock, so strong, we all pray for peace and comfort to you and your family through all this, your mom was amazing... aren't we so thankful that we will see her again in heaven... with a new body, with no pain, no tears, only JOY!
Karen, Matthew and Steve '04
Matthew and Nana Karen Dec '04 
Bob, Karen, Cortney, Steve and Dani Dec '06 
Karen, Dani, Bob, and Cortney '05 
Karen and Daniel July 07
Karen and Matthew July 07
(What follows is the letter that Steve wrote and read at her funeral)
Family and Friends
We are gathered here today to celebrate the life of Karen Denise Perry. Some know her as mom, daughter, wife, niece, cousin, sister or friend, but we all know her as Karen, the person we loved to be around… As her son I thought I would share a few things about my mom with all of you.. Over the last four days and nights as I sat in silence thinking about my mother, I asked myself, “If someone asked you to describe your mother in one word, what would you say?” I thought of so many things I could say about my mom, but one thing really stuck in my head and that was that she was AMAZING…. Amazing is how I describe my mother. When my mom was a young lady she gave birth to me in 1978. As a young lady she could have fallen under the pressure of being a young mom and gave up real easy but she didn’t and she stood strong and raised me to be the best man I could be.. I know that wasn’t a easy task and I give that thanks to her and to my grandparents for always being by her side. Growing up my mom was always there for me.. She always went to all my school events and my track meets even if it meant driving two hours. When I graduated high school and joined the army, I thought my mom would be upset about it. She looked in my eyes and said whatever you want to do in life I’ll be right beside you.. I can’t tell you how much that meant to me at the time. To me that is a amazing mother…My mom taught me about the good things and the bad things in life, about respect, love, and never too give up on anything in life.. These were the tools she gave me to be who I am today and I can’t thank her enough.. I remember when I told my mom she was going to be a grandmother. She was so excited to a grandma.. I thought to myself, if I could raise my kids like my mom raised me, then I have succeeded. We enjoyed life with our family always getting together in different places but Prescott seemed too be a popular spot. I’m sure my family has lots of good memories as I know I do. Then my mom got sick.. I remember when she found out. She told me not to worry like any mother would and I worried like any son would. Over the last year I watched my mom go thru some of what I believe was the hardest times for her, but I learned something from it. God has a plan for all of us.. That plan is so hard to understand but its there.. These things are so hard to deal with but they must mean something.. As I flew down to Arizona trip after trip to see my mother, I learned how we take things for granite. I noticed how the little things in life can make someone so happy like that nice latte everyday and your favorite tv show. Watching her favorite show and having a simple coffee everyday and being around the ones she loved brought a smile to her face.. These memories of her being happy would be the ones I ask you to remember her by. My mother was a avid crafter who loved to sew and make crafts so she could sell them at the square with her mother.. As her husband said she was a hard worker, and loved to hang out with family and friends.. All together she was a all around good person to be around.. I really don’t remember my mom getting mad at me (except when I was a kid). There are thousand of reasons on why mom was a good person, but the one thing again that I saw was she was amazing in every aspect of life.. These are just a few of my thoughts about my mom..
Mom I know you will always be there by our side. Want to tell you how much I love you, and how grateful I am to be your son. I want to thank you for always being there for me and how I know you will continue to be there for me in my heart. Thanks for being you, Karen, Mom, and my friend. Thanks for being the best mom anyone could ask for.. Thank you for raising me to be who I am today, thank you…
I would like to thank all of you for coming out to this service to remember a loving, sweet, caring, and amazing person.. Your friend, sister, wife, daughter, cousin, niece, my mom
Karen Denise Perry..
I love you,
Steven
We are gathered here today to celebrate the life of Karen Denise Perry. Some know her as mom, daughter, wife, niece, cousin, sister or friend, but we all know her as Karen, the person we loved to be around… As her son I thought I would share a few things about my mom with all of you.. Over the last four days and nights as I sat in silence thinking about my mother, I asked myself, “If someone asked you to describe your mother in one word, what would you say?” I thought of so many things I could say about my mom, but one thing really stuck in my head and that was that she was AMAZING…. Amazing is how I describe my mother. When my mom was a young lady she gave birth to me in 1978. As a young lady she could have fallen under the pressure of being a young mom and gave up real easy but she didn’t and she stood strong and raised me to be the best man I could be.. I know that wasn’t a easy task and I give that thanks to her and to my grandparents for always being by her side. Growing up my mom was always there for me.. She always went to all my school events and my track meets even if it meant driving two hours. When I graduated high school and joined the army, I thought my mom would be upset about it. She looked in my eyes and said whatever you want to do in life I’ll be right beside you.. I can’t tell you how much that meant to me at the time. To me that is a amazing mother…My mom taught me about the good things and the bad things in life, about respect, love, and never too give up on anything in life.. These were the tools she gave me to be who I am today and I can’t thank her enough.. I remember when I told my mom she was going to be a grandmother. She was so excited to a grandma.. I thought to myself, if I could raise my kids like my mom raised me, then I have succeeded. We enjoyed life with our family always getting together in different places but Prescott seemed too be a popular spot. I’m sure my family has lots of good memories as I know I do. Then my mom got sick.. I remember when she found out. She told me not to worry like any mother would and I worried like any son would. Over the last year I watched my mom go thru some of what I believe was the hardest times for her, but I learned something from it. God has a plan for all of us.. That plan is so hard to understand but its there.. These things are so hard to deal with but they must mean something.. As I flew down to Arizona trip after trip to see my mother, I learned how we take things for granite. I noticed how the little things in life can make someone so happy like that nice latte everyday and your favorite tv show. Watching her favorite show and having a simple coffee everyday and being around the ones she loved brought a smile to her face.. These memories of her being happy would be the ones I ask you to remember her by. My mother was a avid crafter who loved to sew and make crafts so she could sell them at the square with her mother.. As her husband said she was a hard worker, and loved to hang out with family and friends.. All together she was a all around good person to be around.. I really don’t remember my mom getting mad at me (except when I was a kid). There are thousand of reasons on why mom was a good person, but the one thing again that I saw was she was amazing in every aspect of life.. These are just a few of my thoughts about my mom..
Mom I know you will always be there by our side. Want to tell you how much I love you, and how grateful I am to be your son. I want to thank you for always being there for me and how I know you will continue to be there for me in my heart. Thanks for being you, Karen, Mom, and my friend. Thanks for being the best mom anyone could ask for.. Thank you for raising me to be who I am today, thank you…
I would like to thank all of you for coming out to this service to remember a loving, sweet, caring, and amazing person.. Your friend, sister, wife, daughter, cousin, niece, my mom
Karen Denise Perry..
I love you,
Steven
2 comments:
Thanks for sharing Steve's words about his mom. Those were sweet and I am proud of Steve for writing them and saying them at her funeral. What a blessing he has been as a son to his mom.
That was a beautiful message Steve wrote about his mom, it is a reminder to all of us how short this life is and how important it is to cherish every moment and take nothing for granted.Tell Steve than you for sharing a piece of his heart.
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