Karen Marie DeLuccie
Karen M. DeLuccie, 64, of Independence, MO, joined her parents and grandparents in Heaven on April 12, 2022. She peacefully passed away at home surrounded by her loving family after battling cancer. Karen was born in Dunmore, PA, on March 4, 1958, to Thomas and Mary Bewick DeLuccie and grew up in Scranton, PA, with her two sisters, Mary DeLuccie and Patti DeLuccie Schmidt. The DeLuccie girls attended St. Paul’s, where Karen met her future husband, Joseph O’Hara, in the first grade. Both she and Joe then went to Bishop Hannan High School and graduated in 1976, with Karen as the president of her class. She then moved to Blue Springs, MO, and attended the 6-year undergraduate and Juris Doctorate program at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Karen graduated in 1982 and would later return as an adjunct professor at the UMKC School of Law. Joe joined Karen in Missouri, and the two were married in 1995. They were blessed with two children, Thomas Joseph O’Hara and MaryRose O’Hara - the pride and joy of Karen’s life. Karen spent her 40-year legal career on the Independence Square, practicing law as a Family Law specialist. She was a partner in the firm Paden, Welch, Martin and Albano for 20 years, then partnered with her husband in their firm, the DeLuccie & O’Hara Law Offices, LLC, for her last 20 years. Karen was a member and past president of the Eastern Jackson County Bar Association, a fellow in the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, co-founder of the Independence Youth Court, and a mentor to numerous young lawyers. She was also a trained mediator and was appointed by Judges to serve as guardian ad litem for hundreds of children whose parents were having trouble dealing with the strains of pending divorce cases. She was an AV-rated lawyer (the highest possible rating), whose reputation for professionalism and integrity is beyond reproach. But perhaps the greatest achievement of her legal career took place when she helped author and pass the law that created the Family Court of Missouri, signed by then-Governor Mel Carnahan. The law completely transformed the Family Law Court system for the benefit of all parties by streamlining the divorce and child custody cases. Parties in those cases might not have known Karen, but through her efforts, their experience in the court system was made much more efficient and less traumatic as a result. Karen also took on several roles to serve her community. She was a member of the City Council of Independence since 2014. Karen truly loved her city and her constituents, to whom she gave nothing short of devoted and caring service. She also served 17 years on the City of Independence Planning Commission before her election to the City Council and was a member of the Independence Square Tax Board, a trustee of Gold Bank, and for 8 years was the director of the Advanced Reading Program at her children’s school, Messiah Lutheran, in Independence. Karen lived by two creeds: “You’ll be surprised how much can get done when nobody cares who gets the credit,” and, “Every day is a gift,” which is written on a sign that hangs over the kitchen table of her home. Those who knew Karen know that every day with her was a true gift. She was preceded in death by her parents, Thomas and Mary, her grandparents, Frank and Geneva Craig DeLuccie, and Edward and Florence Coan Bewick. She is survived by her husband, Joe, her children, Thomas and MaryRose, her sister Patti DeLuccie Schmidt, St. Charles, MO, her sister Mary DeLuccie and her husband, Rick Scheidt, Manhattan, KS, her loving niece Hannah LaBelle and her husband, Francis LaBelle, Chicago, and nephews Ron and Robert Schmidt, St. Louis, MO, and Eric and Nicholas Scheidt, Manhattan, KS. A visitation will take place on April 19, 2022, at St. Mark’s Catholic Church in Independence, with a Rosary Service from 5 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Greeting of family and friends will be from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Service provided by Speaks Funeral Chapel. A funeral mass will take place on April 20, 2022, at 11:30 a.m. at St. Mark’s. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Karen’s name to: Independence Police Foundation, C/O Truman Heartland Community Foundation, 4200 Little Blue Pkwy #340, Independence, MO 64057; Bingham Waggoner Historical Society, 313 W. Pacific Ave., Independence, MO 64050; Vaile Victorian Society, 1500 N Liberty St., Independence, MO 64050
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