Obituary of Karen Ann Paone

Karen Ann Paone of Gillette, NJ died suddenly on Monday, February 26, 2007 at Stadtisches Hopsital, Bad Tolz in Germany. She lost her battle of colon cancer in spite of fighting ferociously for over 1 years. A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated on Monday, March 5th at 10:15 a.m. at Our Lady of the Mount Church, 167 Mount Bethel Road, Warren, NJ. Interment will be at Holy Cross Cemetery, Basking Ridge. Visiting hours will be on Sunday from 2-4 & 7-9 p.m. at Higgins Home for Funerals, 752 Mountain Boulevard, Watchung. Karen Ann Paone was born in Summit, NJ on May 3, 1958 sharing the same birthday as her older brother Michael who was born 3 years previously. She grew up in Berkeley Heights. She experienced an idyllic childhood living in a neighborhood with lots of kids and at- home mothers. She graduated from Governor Livingston H.S. and Marywood College in Scranton, PA with a B.S. degree in Dietetics. She worked as a dietitian at Clara Maas Hospital in Belleville, NJ for 5 years. Then she made a career change and became a flight attendant, working for Tower Air and World Airways. She loved flying as she was able to travel to all parts of the world because the airlines were primarily charter and military, which had long lay overs in interesting areas. The Secretary of Air Force had awarded her the Aerial Achievement Medal and the Civilian Desert Shield and Desert Storm Medal for outstanding achievement. A large part of her life when she was home in the US was working out at the Warren Racquet & Health Club where she developed many friendships. She ran 6 miles a day even during very aggressive cancer treatments. She took great delight in her nephew Robert, niece Courtney Godchildren and children of friends. She was very out going, disciplined and energetic. Her doctors said she was spunky. She loved to travel, read, exercise and spend time with friends. She will be greatly missed by everyone who knew her. She is survived by her parents, Dr. Cosimo and Louise Paone, 3 brothers, Michael of Berkeley Heights, Mark and Bruce of New York City, sister-in-law Barbara, nephew Robert and niece Courtney, plus aunts, uncles and cousins all over the US. In lieu of flowers donations in Karen's name may be made to the American Institute for Cancer Research, 1759 R Street, NW Washington, DC 20090 or www.aicr.org.