It's with heavy hearts that we announce that Karen Colleen Nicholson passed away unexpectedly from a pulmonary embolism in her home in Medford, Ore., on Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. She was 64 years old. Karen was born in Denver, Colo., on May 18, 1960, to her parents Eleanor Mendenhall and Cleo Wren. Her father was an electrical engineer whose job took them to Florida where he worked for the Martin Company building rocket engines for the Apollo moon missions. Following her parents' divorce in the early 1970s she moved with her father to Willamina, Ore. He purchased a 160-acre ranch where Karen grew up and went to school. Karen graduated from Willamina High School in 1978. She then moved to Corvallis and attended Oregon State University where she met her future husband, Larry Nicholson, in 1981. Karen graduated from OSU in 1983 with a BS in Business Administration. Karen and Larry moved to Portland and were married in 1985. Karen was hired by a brokerage firm in Portland and worked as a stockbroker for a short time when she realized her passion was working with clients in a support role with stockbrokers. She worked at various banks in their investment departments while also studying and obtaining her CFP designation in 1985. In 1989, Karen and Larry moved to Phoenix, Ore., where she continued being employed as a sales assistant for various firms. Karen had their first child, Ryan, in 1990 followed by Ben in 1993. They moved to Medford where their sons attended school, graduating from North Medford High School. Ryan is training to be a helicopter pilot, and Ben is a wildland firefighter for the Fulton Hot Shot crew in California. Karen was extremely proud of both boys and their chosen career paths. Beginning in 1998 Karen was employed by Bob Hutchins and worked for Hutchins Wealth Management as a Senior Registered Supervisory Associate until her untimely passing. She loved working with Bob and Rick Hutchins along with her team and all the support staff and financial advisors at DA Davidson. Karen was compassionate, quick-witted, hard-headed, and warm-hearted. She loved working with all her clients and took much pride in being accurate and knowledgeable in her role. Four words she used to describe herself were loyal, grateful, dependable and straightforward. Karen is survived by her husband, Larry Nicholson; son Ryan and daughter in law Katerina; and son Ben. She left us too soon and will be deeply missed. A service will be held on Jan. 11, at 2 p.m. at Rogue Valley Christian Church, 1440 S Oakdale Ave., in Medford, Ore. In lieu of flowers, we'd ask you to make a donation to one of her favorite organizations, the Southern Oregon Humane Society at 2910 Table Rock Rd., in Medford, OR 97501.
