Pugh, Karen Hermann died peacefully at home in Wellesley on May 23, having been diagnosed with multiple myeloma last August. Karen was born on October 13, 1950 in Winchester, the daughter of Phyllis (Savage) and Conrad Hermann. She graduated from Bates College cum laude and was admitted to Phi Beta Kappa. She received a Master of Science in Teaching of Elementary Education from the University of Chicago. In Chicago, she taught children with learning disabilities in a private primary school, then taught in a cooperative school in a disadvantaged neighborhood.
Returning to Massachusetts, she taught second grade, then kindergarten in Walpole public schools. She married James R. Pugh on June 24, 1978 at Emmanuel Church in Boston, where she served on the vestry. She taught water conservation to all children in the Wellesley public schools in a national award-winning program sponsored by the town’s Department of Public Works. She became actively involved in water issues affecting the town, serving on the board of directors of the local League of Women Voters and as a town meeting member. Later, she worked at Wellesley High School as a tutor for METCO students and students with special developmental needs. She received an Elementary School Principal Certification from the Massachusetts Elementary School Principals’ Association and worked as assistant principal at Roger Wellington School in Belmont.
Most recently, she worked and volunteered for Generations, Inc. as an AARP Experience Corps reading coach for elementary school children at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Boston’s South End. She was the co-leader, with her husband, of bird walks sponsored by Wellesley Conservation Council or Wellesley College alumnae weekend. She was a docent at the Wellesley College Botanic Gardens. Her love of gardening led her to become certified as a master gardener in a program sponsored by Massachusetts Horticultural Society. She became a member and served on the board of directors of Wellesley Garden Study Group and participated as a floral arranger for Art in Bloom at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts.
Karen is survived by her husband, daughter and son-in-law Susannah and Clayton Sanders of Waltham, son David Pugh of Brooklyn, NY, and brother and sister-in-law Paul and Iris Hermann of Weston. Memorial contributions may be made to Generations, Inc., 25 Kingston St., Boston, MA 02111. Family and friends are invited to 65 Colburn Rd., Wellesley, on Saturday, May 28 at 2 p.m. for a celebration of Karen’s life.