* She was an active lobbyist in Albany for the rights of cerebral palsy patients. * Married James Killilea on July 25, 1933. Attended the Katherine Gibbs Secretarial School. * Her father was a sportswriter for the New York Sun and later became co-owner of a Wall Street brokerage firm. * Marie Lyons Killilea was born Jin New York City to Tom and Marie Powers Lyons.

* She wrote a novel, 'Karen,' which became a best seller in 1952 an Founder of the Cerebral Palsy Association. Later, she was a co-founder of the National United Cerebral Palsy Foundation. Her work culminated in the formation of the Cerebral Palsy Association of Westchester County. Karen is survived by two sisters, Kristin Viltz and Marie Killilea Iris, and a brother, Rory.Founder of the Cerebral Palsy Association. The Killileas lived for many years in Larchmont, and Karen later lived independently in New Rochelle and Larchmont. As a young woman she trained dogs for competition in shows. Karen attended Good Counsel Academy in White Plains. Later she chose to use a wheelchair because it offered greater mobility. As a teenager she walked with crutches and learned to swim. The Killileas began a program of daily exercises with Karen to build muscle strength and help her to move her limbs. Her parents took her to many doctors but received neither a diagnosis nor encouragement, until one doctor diagnosed her with cerebral palsy. She was known for her wit, directness and spunk.īorn in Rye to Marie and James Killilea, Karen was three months premature and did not move and develop as most infants do. She worked for about 40 years at Trinity Retreat in Larchmont, where she was the receptionist and an assistant to Father Benedict Groeschel, C.F.R. Karen did not think of herself as disabled she described herself as “permanently inconvenienced.” She did not allow those inconveniences to sideline her. They drew praise and letters from around the world. Karen’s mother, Marie Killilea, told her daughter’s story in two best-selling books, “Karen” and “With Love From Karen,” published in 19, respectively. 30 at a nursing facility in Port Chester. Karen Killilea, whose strength and determination in the face of cerebral palsy made her admired by those who knew her and those who read her mother’s books about her, died Oct.

Karen by marie killilea summary