Karen Atwood

Karen Loraine Riggle Atwood, age 78, formerly of 694 Mohawk Avenue of Warren,

passed away peacefully on the morning of 25 Sept. 2024 while at LECOM Presque Isle

in Erie. Karen was in medical care for seven months, mostly in Erie, after a brief illness

and sustaining a massive stroke. Karen was a lifelong resident of Warren. She was born

on 30 August 1946 to the late Walter R. Riggle and Jean-Marie Ruhlman Riggle of

Warren. She was a 1964 graduate of Warren Area High School.

Karen was an avid animal lover, enjoying companionship with many cats and dogs

over the years. Two of Karen’s most recent house cats were “sluice pipe kitties”,

rescued from roadside abandonment. She also maintained bird feeders for many

songbirds and woodpeckers. Karen loved frequent hikes in the woods. She was a

staunch advocate for proper land stewardship for both public and private forests. Karen

also enjoyed listening to a broad variety of music, including pop/rock of the 1950s

through the 1980s, country music from the “Hee Haw” era, and bluegrass. On rare

occasion she visited Chautauqua Institution to enjoy music performances in the

Ampitheatre.

Karen was a charter member, co-founder and longtime recreational trails volunteer for

the Tionesta Valley Snowmobile Club headquartered in Warren. Karen was also a statecertified

snowmobile safety instructor from 1975 through 2012. In the early to mid-

1990s, she served as chair of the Allegheny Trail Committee, and later for the Allegheny

Recreational Alliance of Concerned Citizens during their “open the gates” petition

drive. She was member of the Class of 1991 of the VIP Cuverts advocates for the

Pennsylvania Forest Stewardship program, for the sake of private woodlot owners. She

was also one of the leading volunteers for many years for the Jim Lobdell Memorial

Sled Dog Races and Warren County Winterfest, and a past volunteer for Cherry Grove

Old Home and Community Day’s “646 Mystery Well” annual events to observe the

anniversary of the 1882 oil boom.

One of Karen’s biggest volunteer projects was the Highway 59 Bridge Enhancement

Project, a federal transportation enhancement grant project to install side-bridges for

pedestrians, bicycles and snowmobiles alongside the motor vehicle traffic treadways of

the PA. Route 59 highway bridges over Brown Run and Morrison Run near Warren.

The grant for this project was awarded in 1997, construction took place in 1999, and

dedication took place 30 Oct. 2000. These side-bridges remain in operation to this day.

Karen’s career included working at United Refining, Solar Electric, Warren State

Hospital dietary department, a Youth Conservation Corps team supervisor, and cofounding

a family-owned and -operated concrete wall form rental enterprise.

Karen is survived by Edwin W. Atwood, whom she married 2 April 1966 and one son,

Walter Atwood. Karen is also survived by sister Cheryl (Riggle) Dart and husband

Gerald of Gifford. Walt was named for Karen’s father, the late Walter Riggle, a career

welder who worked at Hammond Iron Works, later PDM, and was known as one of the

key builders of the St. Louis Arch project, 1962-65. Karen finally got to visit the Arch in

2012 to honor her father’s work. Karen was a past volunteer in the Committee of Retired

Boilermakers in Warren and she contributed to the “Baby Arch” project in front of the

Warren County Visitors’ Bureau in the Village of Starbrick. Karen was also an amateur

historian for the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), and helped erect “The Worker”

CCC statue, also in front of the Visitors’ Bureau.

For those who want to honor Karen’s life, her many friendships, volunteer work and

many family ties, her husband and son recommend that, in lieu of donating to a cause,

people should reach out to friends and family, particularly the elderly, to help them

make and keep appointments for regular preventative medical checkups at clinics or a

doctor’s office.

A private family burial was held on Friday, September 27, 2024, at Barnes Cemetery. The Atwood Family has respectfully requested that anyone who would be interested in coordinating a Celebration of Life Service for Karen Atwood, please contact Mr. Edwin Atwood at 694 Mohawk Ave., Warren, PA 16365.

To leave an online condolence for Karen Loraine Atwood, please visit www.bordenfuneralhome.com. All arrangements for Karen are under the care of the Borden Funeral Home, 203 West Main St., in Sheffield, PA 16347.

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