Karen Jo Gardner

The world lost a good and substantial person with an electric smile on July 24, 2015. Karen died peacefully surrounded by family after a long struggle with cancer. Karen was born on July 29, 1958 and was the youngest of three children. She lived her entire life in Colorado, growing up in the Denver Metro area and graduating from the University of Colorado in 1980. While Karen had many fruitful careers in her life, her ultimate success was the development of a premier equine therapy program for at-risk juveniles, Aspen Hollow Young Ranchers. Karen tirelessly pursued state-of-the-art credentials and collaborated with internationally recognized experts to create a program that has changed the lives of thousands of Denver youth over the last decade. With her passion, veracity and collaboration, AHYR continues to thrive. Furthermore, Karen's moral fortitude and loving nature was most appreciated by her family. She was an excellent mother to daughter Alison and son Joseph, and a wonderful wife to husband Andy. She is also survived by mother Carole Kessler, sister Linda Nicolette and brother Steve Harris. Services will be held on August 8, 2015 at the AHYR ranch at 2pm. In lieu of flowers, Karen's family requests donations to Aspen Hollow Young Ranchers, Inc., 22424 N. Turkey Creek Road, Morrison, CO 80465. For further information on Karen's AHYR mission and directions to the ranch, please visit ahyr.org.