Pendleton

May 14, 1942 — November 2, 2019

Karen Jane Bryson passed away on November 2, 2019, at St. Anthony Hospital. She was born May 14, 1942, in Wallowa County, Oregon, to parents Charlie Tinsley and Rena (Winters) Tinsley.

Karen married Patrick Leroy Bryson, her high school sweetheart, in the spring of 1962. They have two daughters, Theresa Bryson Stinger and Lorrie Jean Pearce. She loved being “Grandma” to her three grandchildren Ashley Stinger, MacKenzie Stinger and Zachary Warren Pearce.

Karen was a graduate of Weston-McEwen High School and Blue Mountain Community College.

Mom was always on the go, retiring from Eastern Oregon Training Center after 40 years of dedicated service. She loved working with the residents in the center, and was known as “Mama Bryson.” She was a strong advocate for ongoing improvements to the lives of the residents.

That caring dedication carried on to her own family. She rarely slowed down, or lost her fun and hysterical sense of humor, even when she battled breast cancer, which she took on and beat. In her retirement she loved spending time at the casino, gardening, and treasure finding at thrift shops, where she gave her finds amazing transformations with her creative crafting.

Preceding Karen in passing was her father, Charlie Tinsley, her mother Rena Winters, and brothers James Tinsley, Michael Tinsley and Charles J. Tinsley.

She is survived by daughters Theresa Stinger and Lorrie Pearce; brothers Lawrence Tinsley and Delbert Tinsley; and sister Sue Widner.

Karen leaves several grandchildren, one great-grandson, and many nieces and nephews. After raising her daughters in Athena, Oregon, she moved to Pendleton, Oregon, where she lived for the remainder of her life.

In a celebration of life service, Karen will be laid to rest with her mother and father in the Athena, Oregon, cemetery on June 5, 2021, at 11 a.m.