Longtime resident, businesswoman, avid genealogist
Karen Piper. (Courtesy photo)
Karen Louise (Breed) Piper, 78, of Harvard, passed away at home Dec. 21, 2016. She moved with her family to Harvard in 1969 and briefly worked as a nurse in a local doctor’s office. In order to meet the demands of parenthood, she agreed to become the office administrator for the original West Oil Co., owned by Richard West. During the 1973 oil crisis, she filed the first successful application in the United States for allocation of oil supply, ensuring that West Oil’s Harvard customers would continue to receive adequate oil to heat their homes. Her application was ultimately used by Senator Ted Kennedy as a template for filings by other oil companies. When Dick West passed away, she started her own business as Piper Enterprises, providing local and distant clients with payroll, bookkeeping, and tax preparation services. She was the administrative secretary for the Northeastern Section of the American Chemical Society for several years, and in October she received the Henry A. Hill Memorial Award for outstanding contributions to NESACS. She was also an avid genealogist and member of the New England Historic Genealogical Society as well as an enthusiastic amateur historian.
She leaves her husband, James U. Piper; daughters Jeananne C. Piper Grady and husband Alexander of Hingham, and Jessica L. Piper Leahy and husband Michael of Boston. She is also survived by her niece, Gail, and nephews Charles and Kenneth of Connecticut, as well as Michigan family including her brother-in-law William Piper and extended family. She was predeceased by infant twin sons James and Jonathan, her sister Shirley Sylvester, and brother-in-law M. Harry Piper.
Family and friends gathered to honor and remember Karen on Dec. 28 in the Badger Funeral Home. A memorial service was held Dec. 30, at Park Street Church, Boston, with interment in Locust Grove Cemetery, Merrimac.
Donations in her memory may be made to the Park Street Church Missions Fund, Boston, MA 02108 or the Salvation Army, 650 Dudley St., Boston, MA 02125.
