Karen Ann Ewing Barstow was born February 8, 1943, in Merced, California, the daughter of Dwight S. and Marie R. Ewing. She graduated from Merced Union High School with the Class of 1960 and remained a devoted member of her class throughout her life. Karen maintained class contact lists, organized reunions, and helped keep classmates connected, including through an annual girls’ “Lunch Bunch” gathering.
Karen graduated from St. Luke’s School of Nursing in San Francisco and later earned a Masters of Public Health from Fresno State. She taught and served as lead counselor at Merced College until 1973, when she had her first child and joined her husband in their family businesses.
Karen married James “Jim” Henry Barstow on June 21, 1969, in Reno, Nevada. Together, they built a successful family business developing land, farming, and processing agricultural by-products. Karen was the brains behind the brawn, and together they made a remarkable team. They were respected leaders in local agricultural industries throughout the years and traveled extensively for both business and pleasure. Their adventures included motorhome trips across the United States and many visits to Europe, where almond customers often became lifelong friends.
Karen and Jim were deeply involved in their community. Karen served as an elected member of the Ballico-Cressey School Board and chaired the Ballico Recreation Board. She was the famous Little League scorekeeper for the teams Jim coached and their children played on, and she served as both a Girl Scout and Boy Scout leader for many years.
Their home was always a welcoming place for family and friends. Their children’s friends knew the door was open to them—and remarkably, many continued walking through that door long after the Barstow children had grown and started families of their own. Countless memories were made on the houseboat at Don Pedro and backpacking in Yosemite with many of those same family members and friends. Karen stayed in touch with nearly all of the people whose lives she and Jim touched.
Family was extraordinarily important to Karen and Jim. They seldom, if ever, missed a game, competition, program, or event in which their children or grandchildren were participating. Even as her illness progressed, Karen refused to let it keep her from the people and moments that mattered most. Weak or strong, walking or in a wheelchair, she dressed in her supporter gear, showed up, and was most certainly the proudest grand in the stands.
Karen used her nursing skills throughout her life. She was the triage nurse for countless employees of the family businesses, cared for people through her community activities, and served as the principal end-of-life caregiver for ten family members in her own home. In 2019, shortly after Jim passed away, Karen renewed her lifetime nursing license and returned to work as a school nurse for Denair Unified School District.
In 2021, Karen was blessed to find an unexpected second great love when she met Jim Emerson. Both widowed, they developed a special connection just weeks before Karen learned her pancreatic cancer had returned. Despite the uncertainty of what the future might hold, Jim made it clear he wasn’t going anywhere. For five beautiful years, they traveled, attended church together, and simply enjoyed being together. Jim brought tremendous joy to Karen’s life, spoiled her well, and, most importantly, made her smile. Their families and friends warmly embraced one another, and Jim became a treasured part of Karen’s family as she became part of his. Even in her final days, Karen’s eyes would light up when Jim walked into the room. Their love was an unexpected gift, and her family has no doubt that the joy they shared helped carry Karen through five amazing bonus years.
Karen approached life with unwavering faith, boundless optimism, and an extraordinary capacity to love people. She loved Jesus, loved others, and loved life—and she made sure the people around her knew it.
Throughout her life, Karen wrote poetry. Through her poems, she shared her faith and encouraged others in theirs. In 2022, with encouragement and help from her sister, Pat, a collection of her poems was published in a book titled Through the Years: Poems and Reflections by Karen Ewing Barstow, available on Amazon.
Central Presbyterian Church in Merced, where her parents were active members, gave Karen a strong foundation of faith. She later raised her children in the Cortez-Delhi Presbyterian Church and, in 2004, began attending Monte Vista Chapel. At MVC, Karen volunteered in the Awana Cubbies program and took her seven youngest grandchildren to church every Wednesday night for more than ten years. She was also a member of the One Way Sunday School group, where she developed deep friendships that supported and strengthened her faith so dearly in recent years.
Karen was preceded in death by her beloved husband and life-long partner, Jim Barstow, and her parents, Dwight and Marie Ewing.
She is survived by her children, Bill Barstow; Jana and Rob Nairn; and Brett and Amber Barstow; her ten grandchildren, Jolene and Robert Coates, Mary and James Douglas, Cheyenne and Billy Irwin, Gait Nairn, Kodi Nairn, McKel Nairn, Devrie Barstow, Raegan Barstow, Kindal Barstow, and Barrett Barstow; and her seven great-grandchildren, Bryce and Brent Coates, Beckett and Maverick Douglas, and Bailey, Jade, and Danica Irwin.
Karen is also survived by Jim Emerson, her sweetheart and devoted companion, and by her sister, Pat Ewing, and brother-in-law, Bob Hammond.
A celebration of Karen’s life and love will be held at Monte Vista Chapel on Saturday, August 15, at 10:00 a.m., followed by a reception at East Lake Ranch.
The family invites you to honor Karen’s legacy by supporting the Jim & Karen Barstow Community Champion Scholarship, P.O. Box 1, Ballico, CA 95303.
And most importantly, love like she loved: Love Jesus. Love others. Love life.
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