Karen Litz was overwhelmingly re-elected to the Jefferson County school board in 2003, but she never got to serve.
After suffering a double brain aneurysm, she was hospitalized just a week before the election. She lay in a coma on Election Day, but 59 percent of voters chose her. She was never able to take the oath of office.
She awoke on her 66th birthday and had been working to recover her health since then.
Despite remarkably good spirits and outlook, she lost the battle at age 69.
She fell Tuesday and then developed a subdural hematoma. Her chances of surviving surgery to repair it were low, said her husband, John Litz. She died early Wednesday.
A memorial service is planned at 1 p.m. Sunday in the auditorium of the Manning School, 13200 W. 32nd Ave., Golden.
Even though speech was a hard part of her recovery, “she was always able to come out with a good hearty laugh,” said a longtime friend, Debra Oberbeck, who served on the school board with Litz.
“She was the most community-minded person I ever knew,” said Oberbeck, who lives in Westminster.
She said Litz was “totally committed to what was best for the kids.” The two also worked on political campaigns and school bond issues.
Litz’s interests centered on children with disabilities, and she often lobbied at the statehouse.
Litz worked hard to regain her speech and mobility, her husband said. By January 2005, she was walking with a walker and had regained about 80 percent of her verbal skills.
But later that year, she underwent another surgery and again had to regain ground. Last October, she had a seizure.
“She was never depressed,” said her husband. “She was always cheerful and so appreciative of what anyone did for her.”
Karen Larson was born Dec. 30, 1937, in Aitken, Minn. She earned a two-year degree at Colorado Woman’s College and an educational-history degree at the University of Colorado.
She married John Litz in August 1957. They had met in 1956 on a blind date at a pajama party at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, said John Litz, a metallurgical engineer.
She taught in Uravan, Nucla and Grand Junction schools.
After having her children, she returned to college and earned two master’s degrees at the University of Denver, one in public school administration and one in social work.
She had been director of the Association of Retarded Citizens and was first elected to the Jefferson County school board in 1999.
In addition to her husband, she is survived by daughters Kari Miller and Denise Engstrom, both of Lakewood, and Kirstin Litz of Pleasanton, Calif.; three grandchildren; and a brother, Jack Larson of Illinois.
Staff writer Virginia Culver can be reached at 303-954-1223 or vculver@denverpost.com.
