Karen B. Dexter, 67, of Ridgewood, passed away on September 27, 2024.

Karen was diagnosed with stage IV non-small cell lung cancer in November 2023 and admirably fought it for the past year with courage. Karen was in the unfornuate population of lung cancer victims who was not a smoker nor a candidate for targeted treatment. Please donate to lung cancer research in Karen's memory to help fight this disease and find new ways for effective treatment as well as easier effective screenings. 

Loving wife of Donald C. Dexter of Ridgewood. Loving mother to daughters Jane A. Dexter of Manhattan, NY and Melissa L. Dexter of Ridgewood. Cherished sister of Sandra Copper (David) of Volant, PA, Kathleen Peters of New Wilmington, PA, and Charles Peters of Newtown Square, PA. Karen will also be greatly missed by many nieces, nephews and her extended family as well as a wide web of loving friends.

Karen was born August 6, 1957 in Philadelphia, PA, raised in Drexel Hill, PA where she graduated from Upper Darby HS in 1975. She earned a BA in Fine Arts in 1980 from Pratt Institute and lived and worked in NYC working in fashion design. Switching her career plan, Karen then was employed in the Economics Department at Merrill Lynch for 17 years. She was a brilliant woman who worked her way up to become Vice President in Market Research. She and Don decided to settle in Ridgewood to raise their family. In 2009, Karen became a secretary at Sicomac Elementary School in Wyckoff where she was still employed. Working around children every day brought her so much joy. Her favorite pastimes included gardening, baking, sailing, day-trips to the beach, admiring art in all forms, playing the daily NYT Games, and attending book groups as she had a lifelong love of reading.