MRS. KAREN RENEE HARRIS BURSE – Age 55, passed into Eternity on Saturday, March 5, 2022. She was born June 24, 1966 to Martha Harris and to the late James Albert Harris, Sr. In addition to her father, James, she is preceded in death by her brother, James Albert “Bubba” Harris Jr, and brother-in-law, Christopher Burse.

Karen graduated from Lafayette High School in 1984, where she played in the LHS Band and was as an assistant drum major and basketball cheerleader. She received her Associates degree in Early Childhood Education from Georgia Northwestern Community College in Rock Springs, GA. Karen worked in the Head Start Program for 26 years and she also worked in the Walker County Schools System for five years.

She was a member of Mount Zion Baptist Church where she sang in the choir and served as a deaconess. In her free time, Karen enjoyed teaching children and partaking in “DIY” home decor projects, sharing prayers and devotions with family and friends, and assisting her husband, Ken, at the Lafayette Parks and Recreation with youth ball games.

Karen is survived by her devoted husband of 33 years, Ken Burse; her loving children, Ashley (Dupree) Simmons of Chattanooga, TN and Tyler (Kayla) Burse of Cleveland, TN; loving mother, Martha Harris of Lafayette, GA; her loving siblings, twin sister Karla (Jeff) Suttle of Lafayette, GA, Charles (LaBrina) Harris of Chattanooga, TN, Martha Ann Harris of Roswell, GA, Terri Harris of Lafayette, GA, Theodore Harris of Atlanta, GA, Erica (Jimmy) Phillips of Calhoun, GA, and Gloria (Mike) Dallas of LaFayette, GA; grandchildren, Carter Dupree Simmons and Malachi Allen; uncle, Quinton Robbs of Sidney, Ohio; aunt, Robbi Anderson of Long Island, New York; brother in-law, Chad (Vicki) Burse of Lafayette, GA; sister-in-law, Christa Burse; special cousin, Carla (Bill) Robbs-Norris; special niece, Heather Dyer; and a host of nieces, nephews, extended family, and friends.

A celebration of life will be held Saturday, March 12, 2022 at 12:00 Noon at Willis Funeral Home, 2011 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, Dalton, GA 30721, with Minister John Bruce, eulogist, and Pastor Rheubin Taylor, presider. The family will receive friends on Saturday from 11:00 A. M. to 12:00 Noon at the funeral home. Interment; LaFayette Memory Garden. The family would like to extend a special thank you to the Parkridge Hospital MICU nursing staff and doctors, Tina Harris, and Sydney “Angel” Tumlin. Arrangements by Willis Funeral Home, Inc., Dalton, Georgia.