Karen M. (Ossenfort) Price

Karen Maria Ossenfort Price of Skaneateles was born February 12, 1961, in Deer Park, Long Island, to Ernst and Patricia Ossenfort. She lost her mother when she was 11 and was raised by her father and aunt Maria Schneider (Mimi) in the atmosphere of the family deli – developing a love of cooking and giving through food that lasted all her life.

She attended Syracuse University, where she developed her lifelong devotion to the Orange, and her love for her Alpha Gamma Delta sisters. She loved playing sports (tennis, softball, basketball, volleyball, and rugby); coaching sports (volleyball and modified soccer at Skaneateles Schools) and watching sports of all kinds.

She married David Price on July 21, 1990.  He was her inseparable partner in golf, in the reclamation and stewardship of a landmark home near Skaneateles, and in the lives of young people who consider them to be second parents.  He was her faithful and primary caregiver for the last two years.

Karen’s favorite job was at Skaneateles High School, where she worked for 24 years. She adored the kids, and vice-versa. She combined her position as a teacher aide with her passion for Rotary, heading up the high school Interact Club and making it the leading service club in the high school during her tenure.  She was the spirit behind popular events like Haunted Hallways, the Red Cross Blood Drive, the annual Giving Tree and holiday cookie drive, the district’s winning/fundraising Polar Plunge team, and annual causes (such as the high school’s extraordinary collaboration with area churches and the Lost Boys of the Sudan).  She helped guide many young people who have gone on to become community leaders and activists.

As member of the Skaneateles Rotary Club for 15 years, she worked with Rotary Youth Exchange Students from all over the world.  In addition to helping with the year-long exchange program, she headed up the Skaneateles Rotary’s summer exchange, sending 32 students abroad over many summers.

There was no idea too big or too crazy for her, and she drew others in with her effervescent personality, innate kindness, and enthusiasm for life. She remained grateful and joyful to the end, combating cancer with courage and dignity, making new friends every single trip to Upstate – just as she had since elementary school.

Until the end, she expressed how blessed she was.  “What a wonderful life I share with so many people,” she would say, from childhood friends to high school and college teammates, to colleagues at school and to Rotary friends around the world. 

In addition to her husband Dave, she is survived by her sister Patricia (Joseph) Petrucelli (including beloved nieces Jacqueline and Nicole and families), her like-a-sister Laura O’Shea (Chuck O’Byran), great nieces and nephews and godchildren.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to a scholarship fund that the Skaneateles Rotary Club has established in her name.  The Karen Price Memorial Scholarship Fund will be awarded to outbound Youth Exchange Students who need financial assistance to fulfill their desire to explore the world and make a difference. (Make checks out to the Skaneateles Rotary Foundation, with Karen Price Memorial Scholarship Fund in the memo, PO Box 316, Skaneateles, NY 13152).

a Celebration of Life will be held in the Spring   

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