Karen Lee Carnell Popernik

Mrs. Karen Lee Carnell Popernik, 59, joined Jesus and her beloved daddy in her heavenly home on Tuesday, August 17, 2021. The funeral will be held Tuesday, August 24, 2021, at 2:00 P.M. in the Chapel of Waller Funeral Home with Rev. Wesley Hughes officiating. Burial will follow in Kingdom Cemetery in Oxford, MS. The visitation will be held on Monday, August 23, 2021, from 4:00 until 7:00 P.M. in West Hall at Waller Funeral Home.

Born in Oxford, MS to Mrs. Elva Juanita Foster Carnell and the late Bobby Burton Carnell, Karen was a bright and shining star who loved God, life, her family, friends and work. She exuded love and will remain much loved. She looked forward each day to the promise her heavenly Father left in Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” She was a member of Calvary Baptist Church in Oxford, MS. She served on the board of the Punkin Water Association, had been active in Boy Scouts as a Den Mother and had been active with the Yocona Volunteer Fire Department.

Karen, owner of Reid, Brown & Knight Court Reporting and an active court reporter, was sought by Alpha Reporting because she was well known among the North Mississippi legal community for her precision and excellence. She was active in her church and family, always quick to fix her favorite green bean casserole and pineapple upside-down cake. She enjoyed spending time shopping, eating out and traveling with family and friends. She also loved her precious cat Skippy John whom she considered the very best cat in the world. Karen was a true professional who inspired and motivated others to be the best they could be. She was a member of the Civitan’s, the Mississippi Court Reporters Association, the National Association of Court Reporters and the Tennessee Association of Court Reporters.

Karen is survived by her husband, Michael Popernik of Oxford, MS; mother, Elva Juanita Carnell of Oxford, MS; son, Jonathan Allen Edge and his fiancée, Stormie, of Oxford, MS; two stepdaughters, Haley Edge Aycock and her husband, Justin, of Blackland, MS and Elizabeth Popernick and her fiancé, Hugh McClendon of Oxford, MS; two step-sons, Bryson Jeffery Edge of Oxford, MS and Michael Reid of Oxford, MS; three sisters, Bobbie Jean Carnell Riales and her husband, Van, of Tucson, AZ, twin sister – Sharen Carnell Foster and her husband, Bobby, of Rienzi, MS and Anita Ann Carnell of Oxford, MS and four grandchildren.

Memorial contributions in Mrs. Popernik’s memory may be made to Cats of Cat Nip Row Rescue & Sanctuary, P.O. Box 2863, Oxford, MS 38655.