Karen A. (McFadyen) Dennison of Malden, who was born in Chelsea and grew up in Revere, died on Friday, October 30, at Tufts Medical Center in Boston after a long illness. She was 72.
She was born in Chelsea on August 20, 1954, one of four children of James McFadyen Sr. and Lillian (O’Neil) McFadyen. She went to school in Revere and finished at Revere High School with the class of 1972, then trained as a dental assistant at Boston University. Dentistry was her whole career, first as an assistant and later as an office manager, and her last job was with Jay Epstein, D.M.D., in Lynn, where she stayed many years until she retired.
She married Steven Dennison on October 12, 1975. The couple soon settled in Malden and raised their children there. Her grandchildren were the center of her later years. She and Steven took many trips to Aruba and elsewhere, and she collected Hummel figurines and Annalee dolls.
She and Steven R. Dennison of Malden were married for 51 years. Her daughter, Adria R. Power, lives in Wilmington with her husband, Eric. Her son, Michael S. Dennison, lives in Malden with his wife, Kristen. She leaves three grandchildren, Tyler, Andrew and Alexandra. Her sister Kathleen Poirier and brother-in-law William live in Peabody; her sister Lynn Walsh and brother-in-law Joseph live in Needham; and her brother, James McFadyen Jr., lives in North Conway, New Hampshire. She also leaves nieces, nephews and a grandniece.
Visiting hours are Thursday, November 12, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Vertuccio Smith & Vazza Beechwood Home for Funerals, 262 Beach Street, Revere, with a funeral service at the funeral home at 1 p.m. Burial is private. Instead of flowers, the family suggests gifts in her memory to Breakthrough T1D, formerly the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, 62 Walnut Street, Suite 5, Wellesley, MA 02481.
Compiled from information published by Vertuccio Smith & Vazza Beechwood Home for Funerals, 262 Beach Street, Revere. Photograph courtesy of the family via Vertuccio Smith & Vazza. This is our own summary, not the family’s obituary; read the full obituary and leave a condolence at the funeral home’s page on Legacy.com. Corrections: we will fix any error promptly.