Karen Lesley died at home on Wednesday, March 15, 2023, surrounded by family and friends after a year-long struggle with colon cancer. She was born in Lancaster, PA, on August 22, 1958, a daughter of the late Hugh Lesley and Ruth (Hammell) Lefever of Oxford, PA. Karen was the quintessential Lancaster County farm girl. She grew up helping raise crops and chickens and spent her childhood summers pruning Christmas trees and squishing bag worms! She was a 1976 graduate of Solanco High School and went on to proudly earn her BS in Textile Design at Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science. She worked in the apparel industry at Lady Hamilton, Bonny Bunting, Masters Tuxedo, and Moving Comfort. In 1986, during a trip to visit to her brother in Monterey, CA, she met her husband, Ronald Rice, a student at the Naval Postgraduate School. They married in 1987. She then embarked on the life of a navy spouse, moving multiple times during her husband’s assignments in northern Virginia, Washington DC, Virginia Beach, Stuttgart Germany, and Norfolk VA, before finally building their retirement home in Airville, PA, calling it Dog Run Acres to reflect their love of their pets. Karen was an enthusiastic traveler who thoroughly enjoyed being stationed in Germany where she travelled extensively across Europe. Karen was an incredibly talented seamstress, creating custom outfits and bags, multiple wedding and bridesmaid dresses, draperies, and even pandemic masks out of fun fabrics. She was especially sought out for her upholstery skills due to her talent in fitting fabric covers to complicated chair and sofa shapes. Her love of sewing was instilled by her mother, a Home Economics teacher and marvelous seamstress.
She loved the arts and supported the Fulton Opera House and Lancaster Symphony Orchestra as a donor and season ticket holder. She also loved reading books, listening to old radio shows, and watching classic Hollywood musicals, especially with Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers and Gene Kelly. Her love of classical music was instilled by her grandmother, who taught her piano and introduced her to a variety of music genres. Karen was a member of the Leif Ericson Society, designing and sewing numerous historical costumes. She was also a crewmember of the Leif Ericson Viking Ship 'Norseman' and enjoyed her time sailing and rowing the ship and teaching children about the history of the Vikings and spreading the word that "Leif Landed First". Her love of Ford’s Edsel was instilled in her by her father, a renowned collector. She shares her birth year, 1958, with the ill-fated car. She is survived by her husband of 36 years, Captain Ronald Rice, U.S. Navy (retired), and three siblings Kenneth Lesley (and Catherine Osman), Eileen Scotten (and Michael Godra), and Peter Lesley. She has five nieces/nephews: Dwayne Hugh Scotten, R. Christopher Scotten, David Lesley, Sarah Osman Lesley, and Cheyenne Lesley; plus five grand- nieces/nephews, two dogs and eight cats. A memorial service will be held 11 AM on Saturday, April 15, 2023, at Union Presbyterian Church, 5637 Street Rd., Kirkwood, PA, with refreshments following the service. Flowers are welcome but please consider a donation in her name to the American Cancer Society or one of her favorite nonprofits: Oxford or Quarryville library, the Leif Ericson Viking Ship, Inc. (LEVS), WHFC (Harford Community College Radio, 91.1 FM), and WVUD (the Voice of the University of Delaware, 91.3 FM). Arrangements are being handled by the Edward L. Collins, Jr. Funeral Home, Inc. Oxford, PA. On-line condolences may be made at www.elcollinsfuneralhome.com. Comments are closed.
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