Remembering Karen Niles

September 7, 1945 – March 4, 2025

Karen Niles, a dedicated NAMI Orange County volunteer of nearly 30 years, passed away peacefully on March 4, 2025, following a brief experience with cancer.

Having taken the Family-to-Family course as a student, Karen was quickly recruited as a class teacher. She went on to not only train new teachers, but also to train police and other first responders on how to de-escalate incidents involving mental health crises. This work no doubt helped, and possibly even saved, countless lives in her community.

Karen was beloved by everyone at NAMIOC including staff, leadership, her fellow volunteers and every individual she worked with in her classes. She impacted hundreds of people’s lives throughout all of her volunteer work with NAMI. She treated everyone at NAMI with kindness, empathy and grace. 

Karen will be remembered for her boundless energy, intrepid organizational skills, quick wit, indomitable optimism and feistiness, and limitless kindness. She is survived by her husband, sister, three daughters, two sons, and Piper, who is a dream dog.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to Orange County Animal Allies or NAMI Orange County.

The NAMI family is invited to celebrate Karen with other friends and family in Costa Mesa on Saturday, May 31, from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m.
For details, please contact Hilary Niles at h@nilesmedia.com or 802-798-2535.

A link to her formal obituary can be found here: https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/pittsburgh-pa/karen-niles-12272860