San Andreas, CA…Karen Lynn Hooton, February 13, 1949 to February 29, 2024. Karen Lynn Hooton passed peacefully in her home in San Andreas surrounded by her daughters after a tough battle with breast cancer. True to form, she passed on the oddest day of the calendar, Leap Day, 2-29-24. Karen was born in Washington state to Eldon and Forrest Maxwell and lived most of her adult life in Mokelumne Hill,

California where she was well-known and loved for her unique fashion, quirky sense of humor, and enormous heart. Karen had many jobs throughout her life including working as a water laboratory technician, shopkeeper, hod carrier, stone mason, and did volunteer work as a firefighter and teacher, but her true vocation was art. Karen was an artist all her life, creating paintings, sculptures, drawings, mobiles, and many other delightful works that reflected her dynamic view of the world and the wonders it contained.

Karen was, above all things, a mother. Her family was her greatest treasure and pride. She is survived by her three daughters, Mykelina Quick-Vinceguerra, Jesse Quick, and S. Donnelly Liebsch. She is also survived by her brother, Sidney Maxwell, and her sister Merry Maxwell as well as her grandchildren, Kylie Quick, Caitlin Fields, Cassandra Felts, and Maxwell Liebsch, and her great-grandsons, Rowman and Joel Harworth-Quick.

If you ever met Karen, you remember her; she was a force of nature, striding through the ups and downs of her life in boots and mismatched socks, often sporting a Hawaiian shirt or a fabulous tie from her extensive collection, and, of course, a truly special hat. Her friends will remember her for her brilliance and terrific conversations, her energy and strength, and will think of her when they pick up a great new book, a cool marble, or an unusual rock. She has left us for her next amazing adventure, but her impact on this world and all who knew her will never fade.

Please join her family for a celebration of her life on Saturday, June 29th at the Mokelumne Hill town hall beginning at 1pm.