Karen was born on March 7, 1960, the daughter of Victor and Eileen
(Garrity) LaPorte. She graduated from Southern Illinois University with a B.S in Nutrition. She graduated from John Hersey H.S in A.H. She had a succesful career which brought her all over the world in the Global Credit Card processing industry. Karen was an amazing athlete. She was a track & field athlete in which she had a scholarship at SIU Carbondale, a triathlete and was always physically active, biking, swimming, running and kick boxing just to name a few. Karen was a track coach and gymnastic coach and judged gymnastic competitions. She was a loving and devoted mother, daughter, sister and friend who will be missed by all who knew her.
She is survived by her son, Kevin Fox, by her father, Victor LaPorte, by her siblings, Victor (Deborah) LaPorte, Theresa (Ken) Sarni, Thomas LaPorte and by Kathleen (Jeff) Myers, by her aunt Sheila Garrity Douglas, many nieces, nephews and cousin, husband Craig Virgin & step daughter Annie Virgin.
Visitation will be held on Tuesday, July 8, 2025 9am until the time of the 10am Mass both at St. Mary Church-10307 Dundee Road, Huntley. Burial will be at All Saints Cemetery, Des Plaines. In lieu of flowers memorials may be directed to American Cancer Society.
For further information please contact the funeral home at 847-515-8772 or online condolences may be directed to www.defiorefuneral.com
Please leave a video condolence by entering your name and click the "Record" button below. You can always preview your video prior to submitting it. Please note that you may receive a prompt to grant DefioreFuneral access to your camera. This is only temporary and will be solely for the duration of recording your condolence message.
Karen will be missed so much…I cannot imagine life without her brightness in it…💔
Karen was such a bright light and the love of the life of her husband, Craig Virgin. They shared such a special bond for their 17 years together….the last 7 of which were shared in holy matrimony just short of their upcoming anniversary 7/15/25. Rest in peace to such a special lady.
My sympathies to Karen’s family on her loss. We were friends from high school track, and I enjoyed reconnecting at reunions. She will be missed. Peace to her family during this difficult time.
May her soul rest in peace. Y deepest sympathies to her family.
How do you say good bye to a friend who is a light to everyone who meets her. I am honored to have called Karen one of my most beautiful friends, inside and out. Her faith and love shown brightly in all she did. I see her smile and hear her laughter every moment I think of her. She is a beautiful daughter of God and I know her soul is refreshed in lesus' loving arms. Karen was a warrior in love and in life, especially as a mother. I will miss you Karen, but I rejoice in knowing you are home without any more pain. I will pray for all of her family and friends during this especially sad time. My heart will be with you all on Tuesday ❤️
My dear dear beautiful, kind, funny, generous best friend…life will certainly be a little less bright without you in the world. Karen was the person who always showed up. Showed love, showed support, showed kindness. I was blessed beyond words to call her one of my dearest friends for 50 years. Her faith was beautiful and her struggles only drew her closer to God. I rejoice in the reunion of her with her dear mother in heaven and getting to see the face of God. She will be missed every day. Until we meet again…rest in eternal peace. 😘💕🙏😇
Our family sends condolences to brother Craig ( Karen’s loving husband) , Annie and Kevin. This family was Karen’s pride and joy. We pray the Lord will bring peace and comfort to the entire family. We grieve, but in Christian hope for our dear sister.
I am so sorry to hear about your loss. I became friends with Karen during our long distance bike riding days out on the country roads. She shared much of her life with me and I prayed for her often, and we prayed together. What a sweet and loving soul. She is safely in the arms of Jesus now. Prayers of comfort to her family and friends. My heart is broken.
Karen was just a great person who love to serve and a great track and field supporter.