Karen Lawless Shepard-Hamilton's Obituary
Karen Lawless Shepard-Hamilton of Douglasville, Georgia passed away peacefully on April 2, 2024.
Karen was born to Jack and Jayne Lawless, a military family, at Fort Clayton, Panama Canal Zone in 1952. As an "Army brat", she moved with the family to Paris, France in the mid 50's, where she attended French Parochial School for the 1st and 2nd grade. At that young age, she served as the family translator in the markets. Returning to the USA, she spent some time in Manchester, New Hampshire, while her father was stationed in Korea. She then moved to the Ben Hill neighborhood of Atlanta, close to her father's new posting at Fort McPherson, Atlanta.
She attended Therrell High School and was on the Pep Squad. Even prior to graduation, she was attending Clayton State College as a high school student. She then was trained as an LPN at Grady, working at both Douglas General Hospital in the ER and at Parkway Regional Hospital.
A congenital hip issue led to leaving the practice of nursing due to multiple hip replacement surgeries. But her initiative, even with the health issues, brought her to West Georgia College where she received a B.S. in Sociology.
From there, she didn't leave her medical training behind as she became part of the front office staff of the Lawrence Joel Army Health clinic at Fort McPherson. Her courtesy and her organizational skills served her well in her service there until medically retired in 2004.
Karen is survived by her husband of 29 years, Joseph Hamilton; daughter, Shawn Amandolia; son-in-law, Michael Amandolia; daughter-in-law, Leigh Ann Hamilton; stepdaughter, Katherine Stahl (David); five grandchildren and step-grandchildren; and two great grandchildren.
A memorial service honoring Karen's life will be held on Sunday, April 7th, 3:00 PM at Dog River Methodist Church, 5960 Highway 5, Douglasville, GA 30135, with Pastor Tim Constien officiating.
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