Karen Wasserman

Dr. Karen Wasserman, 81, of Worthington, Ohio, passed away on Monday, March 9, 2026 at Norwich Springs Health Campus. Born on July 29, 1944 in Olney, Illinois, she was the daughter of the late Kenneth George Boling and Betty Jean Varner. She was the loving wife of James M. Wasserman, with whom she shared 61 years of marriage and raised two children. Karen became a registered nurse in 1965 and worked a range of nursing jobs until 1978. She leveraged her nursing credentials to continue to work as a military wife, moving with her husband, Jim, an Air Force officer and psychiatrist, overseas and to multiple locations in the US. While her husband was stationed at Wright Patt AFB, Karen earned a bachelor’s degree from Antioch College in 1977 and became a certified alcoholism counselor in 1978. Counseling sparked her interest in psychology, prompting her to become a clinical psychologist in 1985, when she earned a Doctor of Psychology from Wright State University. She worked extensively with veterans until the early 90s, when, seeing military families as underserved, Karen opened a private practice with her husband in Biloxi, Mississippi to support the local military families as well as the surrounding community. There, she also established a specialty store, consulted on psychiatric nursing, and taught as an adjunct professor for Wiliam Carey College. In the early 2000s, she continued to do consulting, supported the Ohio Rehabilitation Services commission, and served as the executive director of a counseling center in Columbus, Ohio. Karen was also a contributing author to several books of psychology published in the late 90s and early 2000s. A life-long “antiquer,” Karen also co-founded Ebenezer’s Antiques with her husband in Dublin, Ohio. Surviving Karen is son Michael (wife Adrienne) Wasserman of Herndon, Virginia and daughter Nicole Stragalas of Sacramento, California; granddaughter Harper Wasserman and grandson Arleigh Wasserman. The family will welcome friends on Sunday, April 26, 2026, from 12-2 pm followed by a formal service at Rutherford-Corbin Funeral Home, 515 High St, Worthington.

Karen Wasserman

July 29, 1944 - March 9, 2026