Karen Frances (Armstrong) Thorpe

Karen Armstrong Thorpe, 75, lifelong resident of Somerville, departed this life on Friday, November 22, 2013 at Methodist Le Bonheur Hospital in Germantown after a brief illness. Her family knows she is tap dancing in heaven with the angels.

Services of Remembrance for Mrs. Thorpe were conducted at 2 P.M. Tuesday, November 26th at the Somerville First United Methodist Church with Rev. Stan McDaniel, pastor of the church, officiating. Personal remarks and reflections were given by her granddaughter, Kara Waddell Tapp. Interment followed in the Somerville City Cemetery. Arrangements were provided by Peebles Fayette County Funeral Homes and Cremation Center - Main Chapel of Somerville.

Mrs. Thorpe was born on October 16, 1938 at St. Paul's Hospital in Dallas, Texas. She was preceded in death by her parents, Dr. John Lee (Jack) Armstrong and Sara Ethel (Sally) Spangler Armstrong, well-known residents of the Somerville Community for many years. She was married September 8, 1957 to Ret. USAF Lt. Col. Thurston Sellers Thorpe Jr., of Somerville, who preceded her in death on September 18, 1985.

Mrs. Thorpe graduated from Fayette County High School in 1956. She was the “PE teacher” at Fayette Academy for many years. In 1977, she graduated from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Health Information Management, cum laude and was chosen Outstanding Student for the Class.  In 36 years, she held top health information management positions at four hospitals, culminating in her work at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

At St. Jude, she was honored as Employee of the Quarter in 2002 and received the St. Jude Employee Spotlight in 2006.  She was also employed as Clinical Practice Instructor at both the University of Mississippi and at the University of Tennessee for Health Sciences in Memphis.

The Tennessee Health Information Management Association named her Mentor/Educator of the Year in 2010. She was selected as a Sterling Award 2012 winner, one of 20 Most Influential Women in West Tennessee, by Jackson Area Business and Professional Women and The Jackson Sun newspaper. In February 2013, the ALSAC-St. Jude Boards of Directors and Governors honored her for 26 years of service to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Mrs. Thorpe also taught tap, jazz, ballet and acrobatics for more than 40 years, owning The Karen Thorpe School of Dance in Somerville. She touched the lives of thousands of students who love “Miss Karen” to this day.  A former officer of the Southern Association of Dance Masters, Karen was a tap dancer of the highest caliber. The former Miss Tennessee contestant (Miss Fayette County) also judged both the Miss Memphis pageant on numerous occasions and the Miss Tennessee pageant.

She loved watching the birds outside her windows and was an avid gardener who raised beautiful roses for many years. At dawn and twilight, she would watch deer walk up to the lake, and wild ducks knew a safe haven in her backyard. She loved watching the sunset paint its way across the water. She enjoyed traveling, and nothing meant more to her than having a houseful of family and friends to entertain in her home.

Mrs. Thorpe is survived by two daughters, Karen “Karrie” Elizabeth Thorpe of Bartlett, LeAnne Thorpe Duckworth (Jeff) of Somerville; her son, John Thurston Thorpe of Somerville; her sister, Helen Jacqueline Armstrong Hillman (Jesse), of Jackson, TN; her half-sister, Elizabeth Jane Armstrong Yazi of Tempe, AZ; her half-brother, Jack Armstrong of Somerville; three grandchildren, Kara Waddell Tapp (Josh), Ariana Elizabeth Thorpe, Joe Benson Waddell II; her great-grandson, Elijah Andrew Florack; two nieces, Sara Jacqueline Waide-Bowers, Karen Leanne Waide; her sister-in-law, Joan Armstrong; and two nephews, Sterritt Armstrong and Brence Armstrong.

She was preceded in death by her brother, Murray Armstrong of Somerville, who died in 2008.

The family requests that memorials be directed to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, P.O. Box 1000, Department 142, Memphis, TN 38148 or to First United Methodist Church of Somerville, 202 S. East Street, Somerville, TN 38068.