Karen Despain

June 8, 1940 - August 19, 2020

Long-serving Daily Courier newspaper editor Karen (Gurley) Despain, 80, passed away Aug. 19, 2020 at the Marley House Hospice in Prescott, with her family by her side. Karen was born June 8, 1940 in Phoenix to William Donald Gurley and Mary Josephine (Kingsbury) Gurley. She was a University of Arizona journalism graduate and die-hard Wildcats fan. Beginning right after college in 1962, she served three stints in five different decades as a Daily Courier reporter and editor. She remained a newshound to the end. Karen was a talented storyteller who enjoyed writing about people most of all. Her fierce and nurturing devotion to her reporters, photographers, readers, friends and family brought great respect from her newspaper family and the community in general. An Arizona native with a long ancestry in Cochise County, Karen loved Copper State history. As a member of the Yavapai County Arizona Centennial Celebration Committee, she co-wrote the committee's "Around Yavapai County: Celebrating Arizona's Centennial" history book. She was active in numerous groups including the Phippen Museum Board of Trustees, Habitat for Humanity, Yavapai County Juvenile Justice Center Community Advisory Board, and St. Paul's Anglican Church. Always asking how friends were doing, she had a special skill at making others feel loved. Karen is preceded in death by her first husband, Prescott Police Chief Ken Lindley, who died in the line of duty in 1971; and son Michael Despain from her second marriage that ended in divorce. Karen is survived by her daughter, Deborah Lindley; granddaughter Payten Lindley; son-in-law Chris Boling, Sr.; brother Bill Gurley and his family; sister Ellen Neil and her family; and her many friends and newspaper family. Karen's memorial will take place at Ken Lindley Field, 702 E. Gurley St. in Prescott, at 1 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 6. A reception will follow at the Yavapai County Mounted Sheriff's Posse Clubhouse, 1495 S. Sheriff's Posse Trail in Prescott. A private family burial will take place at Mountain View Cemetery in Prescott. Donations in Karen's memory may be made to Habitat for Humanity and the Phippen Museum.