Obituary of Karen Peggy Dreyer

Karen’s first employer following graduation from Carson High School, Carson Iowa was with Northwestern Bell Telephone as a long-distance operator. Karen lived alone in a small downstairs 2-room apartment in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Her Dad would pick her up after work on Friday and return her Sunday evening to her apartment. This arrangement lasted until Karen saved enough money to purchase her first car a 1954 Chevrolet.

Karen was later employed by the only doctor in Carson, Iowa - Doctor Angel worked as a receptionist and collected vitals for pre-exams, assisting the Doctor as needed. This is where Karen and Ed met. Ed needed a physical to drive a truck following service in the military. The only place nearby was Carson, Iowa. An appointment was made; Ed arrived and checked in with Karen. Karen escorted him to an empty exam room and told him to remove his clothes and put this gown on. Well needless to say Ed fell in love at that moment. They were married the following year March 21, 1966.

Ed’s first assignment was with Honeywell as a Customer Engineer at a local R.H. Donnelly plant. Soon after moving to Nevada, Iowa, they joined the local Presbyterian Church. Ed won a quarter of beef from the local 4H Chapter’s raffle. They needed a new stove. Word was passed around with the locals and the local newspaper. They featured her on their newspaper front page as a new resident that loved to cook with a new stove.

Ed & Karen moved to Florida in late 1978, by 1980 Ed was employed by Harris Corporation. This is when Karen started a new career in silk flowers. As time went on both Sandy Coats and Karen became very good as Silk Flower Designers. Together they opened the Silk & Such located in Suntree, Florida located in North Melbourne, Florida. They became very successful; the store was a great success story for both of them. Together they attended the yearly Silk Designers' annual sales show in Atlanta, GA.

Karen was an active member of this local (past member of Weight Watchers) informal group. This was probably Karen’s highlight of the week, meeting five of her Weight Watcher girls for their lunch at 11:30 every Wednesday. They are Susan, Marilyn, Patti, Jean, and Cathy Hunt. The group would decide at the end of lunch where they would meet next week. The girls are known as the Weight Watcher Girls as they all met at a local Weight Watchers meeting, but later used this luncheon to replace the formal meeting held weekly by the Weight Watchers organization. At the end of their lunch, they would decide on their meeting place. This group spent many holidays celebrating together including their spouses.

Left to cherish her memories are her spouse: Norman “Ed” Dreyer; daughter Lanette Dreyer, son Jason Dreyer and wife Dawn; granddaughters Lorena Dreyer-Barerra, Nykohl Dreyer-Benson; great-grandsons: Amari Benson, Zayne Benson; Sons-in-law Jose’ Barerra, Tyronne Benson; Joseph Hatfield and a host of nieces, nephews, and cousins.

A Celebration of Karen's life will be held on Saturday, June 24, 2023, at Ammen Family Cremation and Funeral Care 950 Malabar Rd SE., Palm Bay, with visitation from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm; followed by a service with Pastor Woody Morrison.