Karen Giblin

Karen Giblin, 83, died on Easter Sunday, April 17, 2022. Karen was born May 31, 1938, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, daughter of Dwight Samuel and Alice Lucile (Shepard) Lupton. She married Joseph J. Giblin on June 27, 1964, in Cedar Rapids and they resided happily in Champaign for 54 years. Karen is survived by her husband, Joe (92), currently living in Palo Alto, CA; her son Michael J. Giblin of Park Ridge, IL, her daughter, Lisa A. Freccia of Portola Valley, CA, her daughter-in-law Carmelle Giblin and son-in-law Tobias Freccia, and seven grandchildren who loved her sense of humor and big heart: Ryan Giblin (25), Jason Giblin (23), Braedon Giblin (22), Anna Giblin (20), Ilaria Freccia (18), Paolo Freccia (16) and Andre Freccia (14). She is preceded in death by her parents and brothers, Keith and Clark Lupton.

Karen graduated magna cum laude from the University of Iowa in 1960 with a degree in speech pathology and pursued postgraduate studies at the University of Illinois. She was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Alpha Lambda Delta, Pi Lambda Theta and Sigma Alpha Eta honorary societies. She was a speech pathologist for the Aurora, Illinois school system and later with the Champaign Unit 4 School District.

She was a past member of St. Matthews Catholic Church and enjoyed singing in the choir and playing piano and organ for many years. She also was a past member of the C-U Junior Women’s Club and the University of Iowa Alumni Association. She had an avid interest in genealogy and online media and was actively inputting family heritage information into Ancestory.com until her final hours. She was an eleventh-generation descendant of George Soule, a Mayflower immigrant.

She will be interred at Mt. Hope Mausoleum later this year. Her family will miss her dearly and always remember her ready smile and laugh.

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