Adkisson, Karen Ann

Karen Ann Adkisson, 66, passed away on Tuesday, March 10, 2009, at her home in Blacksburg, Va. She was born on December 14, 1942, in Albany, N.Y. She was a retired biology professor at Roanoke College, Salem, Va., with 30 years of service. She received her bachelor’s degree in biology from Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, Mass., in 1964, and her Ph.D. in zoology (genetics) from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, in 1970. In addition to being a fine teacher and advisor to biology students, she was a loving mother and wife, a devoted homemaker, with extraordinary gifts and love for cooking, knitting, sewing, and gardening. She also loved to hike and cross-country ski in Colorado where her ancestors were pioneer settlers. At Roanoke College, she taught many different courses in biology, specializing in genetics.

She was preceded in death by her mother, F. Katharine Petersen. Survivors include her father, Maurice E. Petersen, of Evergreen, Colo.; her husband of 40 years, Curtis S. Adkisson, of Blacksburg, Va.; her daughter and son-in-law, Jennifer Ann and Kevin Patrick Duffy; and grandchildren, Kellan Michael and Kennedy Ann Duffy, of Ft. Lupton, Colo.; four brothers; three sisters and their spouses; 25 nieces and nephews; and 10 grandnieces and nephews.

A memorial service in her memory will be held 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 25, 2009, in Antrim Chapel at Roanoke College, Salem, with Roanoke College Chaplain R. Paul Henrickson officiating. Eulogies by friends and colleagues are welcome. There will be a reception afterwards. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions be made to the Carilion Hospice, 707 Randolph St., Suite 251, Radford, Va. 24141. Arrangements by McCoy Funeral Home, Blacksburg, Va.