Karen Marie Bronk

LEWISTON — Karen M. Bronk, 64, of Turner died peacefully at the Androscoggin Home Healthcare and Hospice on Monday, June 18, after a three-year struggle with cancer.

Karen was born in Connecticut on Dec. 25, 1953, into a family that included six brothers. The family lived for a time in Germany before moving back to the United States. Karen graduated from UMass Boston, and eventually earned a master’s degree in social work from the University of New England. She and her husband, Peter Driscoll, moved to Maine from Boston in 1979, seeking a more peaceful and rural lifestyle. They first settled in Salem before moving to Turner in 1990.

Karen worked as a professional social worker for all of her adult life. She worked in several local agencies, including Tri-County Mental Health, Androscoggin Home Health and Hospice Services and the Spurwink School. For the past 16 years, she has been a behavioral specialist, working with DFD Russel Medical Center in Turner, where she provided kindness, support and helped individuals struggling with life challenges to find their own paths for success.

Karen was a woman of many talents and interests. An avid reader, she also loved to garden, and her home is surrounded by beautiful flowering trees, shrubs and plants. She was an accomplished equestrian, and loved the gentle and subtle relationship she was able to develop with her horses. She was a marathoner and a skilled canoeist, and Karen and Peter paddled hundreds of miles of wilderness rivers in Maine and Canada. For a short time, they operated a small canoe camping business.

Nothing brought Karen more joy than her family. Karen and Peter have been through life’s joys, hardships and adventures. For more than 40 years, theirs was a loving, respectful, and committed relationship. Karen decided later in life that she wanted to become a mother. She began the process that led to the arrival of first Rufino (now 16) and later Manuel (14) into their family. She was a fabulous mother and worked tirelessly to create a home environment that was nurturing, gentle, challenging and supportive. She took great pride in witnessing her two sons grow into fine and mature young men.

Karen was an incredibly kind and gentle soul, she also possessed a core strength that sustained her through her difficult struggle with cancer. She continued to work until the last month of her life because she viewed her work as a commitment to making her corner of the world a better place.

She is predeceased by her parents and a brother, David. Survivors include her husband Peter; two sons: Rufino and Manuel; five brothers: Harold Bronk, Steven Bronk, Paul Bronk, Peter Bronk and Tim Bronk; stepmother, Joyce Caggiano; and many nieces and nephews.

She will be fondly remembered by her many friends and colleagues.

Condolences may be shared at www.albert-burpee.com.