GOTEBORG, SWEDEN – Karen K. Anderson, 67, died at her home in Göteborg, Sweden, on Sept. 5, 2022, with her loving family at her side. She was born in Richwood, W.Va., on Dec. 14, 1954, the eldest daughter of Kenneth and Doris Anderson, and grew up in Gardiner, Maine, from the age of four.

After graduating from Gardiner Area High School in 1973, Karen went on to the University of Vermont and earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology and environmental science in 1978. She then moved to Sweden and began to build a life full of service and family in the adopted country she loved.

Her professional work included physiotherapy, psychotherapy, acupuncture, massage and Journey therapy. Working at Göteborg’s Crisis and Trauma Department, she specialized in helping immigrants traumatized by war and oppression, bringing to her work compassion and the power of an open heart.

She was also a practitioner of Wild Goose qigong and a kung fu black belt who earned second place in Sweden’s national kung fu competition in 1985/86. Karen possessed a deep connection to nature, which was often expressed in her paintings and poems. She was a gifted artist with a generous, kind spirit and optimistic worldview.

Karen truly loved life and the riches it offered her. She lived with ALS for over 15 years and strived to make every moment count. After her diagnosis she communicated through eye movement and computer technology, giving bi-annual presentations on the patient’s perspective to physical and speech therapists, and supporting other ALS patients both locally and internationally over the internet. Karen also learned both Spanish and French through Duolingo, engaged in humanitarian causes, enjoyed her garden and cooked over 1000 vegan recipes with the help of her assistants.

Her continued life involvement led many of her doctors to say their view on life with ALS was unalterably changed by knowing her, and, of course, her family, friends, and caregivers have been profoundly moved by their time with her.

She is survived by her husband Mario Hernandez of Göteborg; her daughter Freja Anderson and partner Lars Rosenberg of Stockholm, her son Jonathan Anderson and partner Linnea Holmertz of Stockholm; her grandchild Billie Anderson Rosenberg of Stockholm; and sister Beth (Eliza) Anderson of Edgecomb, Maine.

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