Karen was my best friend in grade school from 2nd to 5th grade. I was deeply saddened to hear of her death. She was an activist that made a difference! I was so lucky to see her at our 30th reunion to reminisce about our childhood together! Below is an article written about her:
KAREN SHARKEY FLAHERTY
Nov. 30, 1948 - Feb. 4, 2002
On February 4, 2002 Plenty lost a dear friend, sister, Board member, Treasurer and field worker when Karen Sharkey Flaherty passed away. Karen brought beauty, grace and courage into the Plenty circle.
She was passionate with a gentle touch. She turned an unblinking eye on injustice in the world, especially the plight of women and children living in poverty. She lived for helping the victims of circumstances beyond their control, without hesitation, and often without consideration of her own health and well-being. Karen gave herself away. She had no enemies, only friends, by the thousands.
Karen was a founding member of the Farm community where Plenty was born. She was a founding member of Plenty and served on the Board of Directors since 1988 and has been our Treasurer since 1989.
She cofounded the Bhopal Justice Campaign to help the people of Bhopal, India obtain justice and compensation for their injuries as a result of a massive chemical accident at a Union Carbide plant that killed thousands of people in December 1984. Karen was deeply involved in Plenty’s projects at Pine Ridge and Round Valley Indian Reservations.
She was strongly committed to Plenty’s Fair Trade programs and the Indigenous Women’s Economic Development project (IWED), traveling to Beijing to attend the International Women’s Conference in 1995 as a delegate of Plenty to help build awareness of Fair Trade.
More recently, Karen was employed as a Project Administrator at the Florida Association of Voluntary Action for Caribbean Action (FAVACA) coordinating women’s development projects in the Caribbean and Central America and participated in joint Plenty/FAVACA projects in Dominica with the Indigenous Carib Peoples.
The Mayor of Oakland, California, Jerry Brown, declared Sunday, Feb. 10, 2002 : Karen Flaherty Day
Mary Sue Boelter (Lienke)
Karen was my best friend in grade school from 2nd to 5th grade. I was deeply saddened to hear of her death. She was an activist that made a difference! I was so lucky to see her at our 30th reunion to reminisce about our childhood together! Below is an article written about her:
KAREN SHARKEY FLAHERTY
Nov. 30, 1948 - Feb. 4, 2002
On February 4, 2002 Plenty lost a dear friend, sister, Board member,
Treasurer and field worker when Karen Sharkey Flaherty passed away. Karen
brought beauty, grace and courage into the Plenty circle.
She was passionate with a gentle touch. She turned an unblinking eye on
injustice in the world, especially the plight of women and children living
in poverty. She lived for helping the victims of circumstances beyond
their control, without hesitation, and often without consideration of her
own health and well-being. Karen gave herself away. She had no enemies,
only friends, by the thousands.
Karen was a founding member of the Farm community where Plenty was born.
She was a founding member of Plenty and served on the Board of Directors
since 1988 and has been our Treasurer since 1989.
She cofounded the Bhopal Justice Campaign to help the people of Bhopal,
India obtain justice and compensation for their injuries as a result of a
massive chemical accident at a Union Carbide plant that killed thousands
of people in December 1984. Karen was deeply involved in Plenty’s projects
at Pine Ridge and Round Valley Indian Reservations.
She was strongly committed to Plenty’s Fair Trade programs and the
Indigenous Women’s Economic Development project (IWED), traveling to
Beijing to attend the International Women’s Conference in 1995 as a
delegate of Plenty to help build awareness of Fair Trade.
More recently, Karen was employed as a Project Administrator at the
Florida Association of Voluntary Action for Caribbean Action (FAVACA)
coordinating women’s development projects in the Caribbean and Central
America and participated in joint Plenty/FAVACA projects in Dominica with
the Indigenous Carib Peoples.
The Mayor of Oakland, California, Jerry Brown, declared Sunday, Feb. 10,
2002 :
Karen Flaherty Day