Karen Preston McDaniel

April 23, 1957 - October 9, 2017

Karen Preston McDaniel, 60, of Butler, PA, died October 9, 2017, in her home surrounded by her loving family following a valiant four-year battle against breast cancer. She was born on April 23, 1957 in Decatur, AL, the daughter of the late Abraham David Preston and Marjorie Joan Wilson Preston. For more than three decades, Karen championed the cause for special needs children as a Pediatric Physical Therapist for children’s clinics and school districts in Montgomery, AL, Clarksville, TN, and in western PA. She received her BA in Physical Therapy from the University of Missouri, Columbia, in 1980, and then began her PT practice at the nationally-known Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, MO, her home since 1965. There in the Fall of 1981, she met Curt, the love of her life, and the two were married on July 2, 1983. In addition to being a skilled and compassionate therapist, she was a loving wife, devoted mother and grandmother, and a creative homemaker, quilter and smocker that excelled in embroidery and sewing. Most significantly, she was a humble servant of the Lord Jesus Christ, co-laboring as a faithful pastor’s wife alongside her husband to congregations in Oklahoma, Alabama, Tennessee, Florida, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina. She is survived by her devoted husband of 34 years, the Rev. Dr. H. Curtis McDaniel, Jr. of Butler, PA, a son, the Rev. H. Curtis McDaniel III (Margaret) of West Lafayette, IN, two daughters, Megan Elizabeth McDaniel and her fiancé Jonas Elliot Broccard of Atlanta, GA, Heather Preston McDaniel of Pittsburgh, PA, two granddaughters, Anna Hope McDaniel and Katherine Grace McDaniel, one sister, two brothers, several beloved in-laws, nieces, nephews, cousins, and a legion of faithful friends. Visitation will be on Monday, October 16, from 4:00-8:00pm at Young Funeral Home, 127 W. Jefferson Street, Butler, PA. A memorial service and celebration of life will be held on Tuesday, October 17, at 7:00pm in the South Venue at North Way Christian Community, 12121 Perry Highway, Wexford, PA. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be given to the Reformed University Fellowship Chapter of Purdue University (www.ruf.org/purdue), Joni and Friends (www.joniandfriends.org) the orphan missions ministry at North Way Christian Community in Wexford, PA (www.northway.org), or to Samaritan’s Purse (www.samaritanspurse.org).