Karen Ruth Lorimer

Karen Ruth Lorimer, loving wife, mother, grandmother, sister, and friend, passed away at the Montfort Hospital on November 17, 2024. Karen will be remembered for her grin like a torn pocket and generous laugh, her fierce competitiveness when playing board games, her perfect pastry, and her large capacity for love that was rooted in her faith in Christ. 

She was raised on the farm of Clayton and Ruth Hasson near Dresden, Ontario. She graduated from the Wellesley Hospital School of Nursing, and then moved to Ottawa where she worked as a nurse in several local hospitals. She earned a Bachelor and a Masters of Science in Nursing from the University of Ottawa. She worked in many different environments, and was devoted to the care and dignity of others, a quality that made her an excellent nurse, coworker, and mentor, and that extended beyond her nursing career to her volunteer work with vulnerable populations. 

She married Gord Lorimer in August 1974, and they welcomed two daughters, Caitlin and Lindsey. She lived with her family in Old Ottawa South, surrounded by loving neighbours. Karen loved gathering with friends and sharing good food, conversation and laughter. In retirement, she spent her time travelling with friends, visiting her grandchildren, volunteering with the pastoral care team at Bromley Road Baptist Church, and enjoying the cottage with Gord on the Ottawa River. 

Karen will be missed beyond measure by her husband, Gord, her daughters, Caitlin and Lindsey, son-in-law, Ben, and her grandchildren, Silas, River, Isobel, and Clayton; by her siblings, Sheila, Sharyl, Brenda, Lori, and Bradley, and by her close friends and church community. 

The family would like to thank the Montfort Hospital staff for their dedicated and compassionate care during Karen’s final days, Rob Sellitto, Senior Pastor, Bromley Road Baptist Church, for his support and guidance during this difficult time, and all the cherished friends who prayed, provided food and shoulders to cry on. 

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Montfort Hospital or the Building Forward Campaign for Bromley Road Baptist Church. 

Friends are invited to a visitation at Bromley Road Baptist Church, at 1900 Lauder Drive, on Friday, November 22, 5:00-7:00pm.

The funeral will be held on Saturday, November 23, 11:00am, at Bromley Road Baptist Church, 1900 Lauder Drive. Reception to follow.