Karyn May Thompson-Hendricks, beloved wife, mother, and grandmother, passed away on February 1, 2025, following a long battle with dementia. She was 79 years old.
Karyn was born in Seattle, Washington, on May 26, 1945, to Roberta and George Childers. She had a passion for music, excelling at ballroom and salsa dancing and taking in musicals and live concerts whenever she got the chance. Some of her most cherished memories are sitting in the front-row at a Barbra Streisand concert and seeing Andrea Bocelli perform at the Hollywood Bowl. Her children have fond memories of her playing Barbra Streisand records, dancing and singing along in the living room.
She also had a profound love of nature. Karyn enjoyed spending time on the water, especially the Puget Sound in Washington and boating around Balboa Island near Newport Beach in California. She spent her later years in Palm Springs, California, where she liked to watch the sun setting over the surrounding mountains, framed by palm trees and desert flowers. Her keen eye for beauty in nature extended to a passion for creating beautiful home designs. She was a brilliant interior decorator, devoting much of her free time to buying, remodeling, and selling homes with much success.
Professionally, Karyn was a flight attendant for ten years, routinely working international flights to locales like the Philippines, Japan, and Australia. She loved to travel in her personal time too, favoring tropical destinations like Puerto Vallarta and Hawaii where she could surround herself with palm trees and warm ocean water. Later, she became a licensed Esthetician, practicing out of her home in Alki, a suburb of Seattle on the Puget Sound.
Karyn will be remembered for her radiant smile and infectious laugh. She loved to get together with friends or family to spend hours "gabbing" (as she called it) - catching up, sharing stories, and reminiscing about her many adventures. She will also be remembered for her timeless sense of style, which was reflected in the elegant clothes she wore and the tasteful homes she decorated.
Karyn is survived by her husband, Daniel Mark Hendricks of Palm Springs; her children Kim Gustafson (James) of Hot Springs, Arkansas, and Brandon MacRae of Palm Springs; her granddaughters Shela Ward (Nathan) of Joplin, Missouri, and Serena Bannasch
(Guadalupe) of Springfield, Missouri; and her great-granddaughter Josephine Ward of Joplin, Missouri.
She is preceded in death by her mother Roberta Childers; father George Childers; granddaughter Sharon Bannasch; and beloved dog Chipper, who passed on the same date three years before Karyn.
