OBITUARIES

Karen B. Kwitter, 73

08/19/2024

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Karen Beth Kwitter, 73, of Williamstown died on Monday, August 19, 2024 at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center New York, with her family by her side.

Karen was born in Brooklyn, NY on March 20, 1951, daughter of the late Arthur & Sonia (Lubin) Kwitter. She attended Edison High School in New Jersey and then went on to graduate from Wellesley College in 1972 with a degree in Astronomy and Physics. Karen earned a Master’s degree, and then her Ph.D. in Astronomy from UCLA in 1979, after which she joined the faculty of Williams College. She retired in 2019 as the Ebenezer Fitch Professor of Astronomy, after teaching and conducting scientific research for 40 years. She was highly respected by her peers and students at Williams College and in the broader astronomy community.

Karen married Steven Souza on August 19, 1979, and they remained married for 45 years. In addition to Steven, Karen is survived by her beloved sons and their families: Randall Souza, his wife Caitlin Duke, and their daughters Aila and Judith, of Seattle, WA; and Aaron Souza, his wife Dr. Sarah Barenbaum, and their sons Jacob, Asher and Eli.

FUNERAL NOTICE: Graveside services for Karen Beth Kwitter will take place on Thursday August 22, 2024 at 10:00 AM at the Williams College Cemetery, Williamstown, MA. Flynn & Dagnoli Funeral Homes 521 West Main St. North Adams, MA 01247) is entrusted with arrangements. To add to the Book of Memories, please visit www.flynndagnolifuneralhomes.com

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We were lucky to have had both Randy and Aaron in our class at Williamstown Elementary and it is in that capacity we came to know Karen. Those amazing boys were her heart, and with pride and humor (and an occasional tinch of Mama Bear) she was deeply involved in their elementary school lives. We will never forget the year Karen chose to spend her winter study down-time volunteering for three weeks in our classroom on the top floor of the Southworh School. We thought she was joking at first when she offered, but in what we came to know as her trademark seriousness and enthusiasm, she hiked up three flights of stairs everyday and dove in- working with small groups of children, helping supervise recess, kneeling on the floor next to desks to support individual learners. She did anything and everything we needed. She asked questions. We talked pedagogy and child development. We laughed at the antics and dynamics that are everyday occurrences in an elementary classroom. She was a real help. In the end she thanked us for the experience and told us she would stick with her day job teaching college students which, in her own words, was “much easier”. Karen was the epitome of joy, intelligence and kindness. The world has lost a shining star but we are lucky to have had a chance to know her, fleeting as that time was.
from: Joelle Brookner & Tom Welch	on: 08-24-2024

Losing Karen, at what to me is too young an age, is a blow to her many friends, colleagues, and students. So very sad.
from: Susan Schneski	on: 08-23-2024

Such a wonderful teacher, mother, grandmother! A great Mensch all around. To all the Souzas, my sincere condolences for such a sad loss.
from: Eva Grudin	on: 08-23-2024

Such a wonderful, kind-hearted, warm and genuine human who was a true highly respected and accomplished scientist in her field.
from: Quentin Parker	on: 08-22-2024

Karen was a wonderful friend and collaborator of the mexican community of astronomers. Our sympathies to her family and colleagues.
from: Miriam Peña	on: 08-22-2024

Brilliant and modest. Loved her boys and loved by all who knew her. So sad
from: Ira lapidus	on: 08-22-2024

Our sympathies to you from my family and me and your friends at Congregation Beth Israel. We loved Karen!
from: Paulette Wein	on: 08-22-2024

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