Obituary of Kara Lynn

On January 7, 2011, at Vassar Brothers Medical Center, Poughkeepsie, NY, Kara Lynn, 49, of Poughkeepsie, entered peacefully into rest with her loving family by her side, after conducting a valiant battle against ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease). She will be missed so very much by all her family and friends. Born in Salem, Oregon on May 14, 1961, Kara had been a resident of Wappingers Falls, NY, moving there in 1964. She attended schools in Wappingers, graduating from Roy C. Ketcham High School. She attended classes at Dutchess Community College. Kara was a Web Graphic Designer, working most recently at Vassar College. She also had her own computer graphic design business named Kara Lynn Design, creating web-sites and graphics for local businesses. Prior to this, she worked in the printing industry with Merchants Press, both in NY and in Virginia for some years. She had also been an employee of New Horizons in Millbrook, NY, as an accountant, and worked at the Byrnes' Message Bureau for a time. During the late 80s, Kara started and operated an all natural products mail order business named Simply Good. Kara was a talented poet, artist, and photographer. Her other interests included hiking in the local mountains, and up and down the Hudson River, which she loved, and in which she found a certain peace. Kara loved animals from the time of childhood, leading to her becoming a strong advocate for animal rights and eventually to following a Vegan lifestyle. Kara also loved music and drama, and enjoyed reading. She was blessed with a wonderful sense of humor, which she maintained even into her illness. In the latter stages of her illness, Kara communicated with her computer, iPhone and computerized voice, right up until just before her passing. She was interviewed for a front-page article in The New York Times on September 14, 2009 (www.nytimes.com/2009/09/15/technology/15speech.html). Also appearing in the article is her son Aiden, 6 yrs., who has Down syndrome, to whom she was a wonderful, loving mother and a devoted advocate throughout her illness. Kara leaves behind her husband, Lewis Wright and their son Aiden, also of Poughkeepsie, her parents, Barbara Gough, of Wappingers Falls, and Eugene Gough, of Marietta, GA, and his wife, Peggy, sister Kathryn Aldrich and her husband, Richard, of Beaverton, Oregon, sister Kelly Gough, of White Plains, NY, brother, Kevin Gough, of Wappingers Falls, and nephews Joshua Gough and Daniel Aldrich, both of Atlanta. Also surviving are many of Kara's aunts, uncles, and cousins and extended family around the country. Her family wishes to thank Kara's good friend, Amethyst, who was so helpful to her in the hospital, her faithful aide, Rosa, who was with her and her son for 3 years, and also aides Priscilla and Lindsay, as well as Dr. Uma Medapati and all the staff of Vassar Medical Center, who were so kind and caring to Kara during her hospitalizations. The family is also grateful for the care she received at the Eleanor and Lou Gehrig MDA/ALS Research Center at Columbia Presbyterian with Dr. Hiroshi Mitsumoto where Kara participated in ALS research trials. In recent years, Kara wrote about her fight against ALS on her web site www.karalynn.net. It was her goal to elevate awareness of PALS (People with ALS) to make the general public more understanding and eager to support research for a cure. Services will be private and at the convenience of the family. There will be a memorial to Kara's life, to be announced at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to The ALS Association through www.alsa.org. To share condolences or remembrance of Kara, please visit http://kara-lynn.gonetoosoon.org.