Karen Barbara Baine, nee Kuzma,69 of South Plainfield, passed away peacefully on June 10, 2018 surrounded by her family.

Born on October 2, 1948, in Elizabeth, New Jersey, to John and Helen Kuzma, she attended the Edison public schools. Karen went on to attend Douglass College, Missouri Southern State University, and Jersey City University where she received her Master’s Degree.

Mrs. Baine was a special education teacher, before working as a learning disabilities consultant on the child studies team for the Dunellen public school system and was a parishioner of St. Nicholas Byzantine Catholic Church.

Karen loved teaching and every student, teacher, and parent she encountered in five districts and 44 years of education received her genuine care. She was a voracious reader who enjoyed puzzles and watching Major Crimes, Law and Order: Criminal Intent, Judge Judy, and QVC. Karen loved her family and sacrificed for them, she was selflessly devoted to being a caring daughter, wife, mother, sister, and friend. She was unsurpassed in that regard. Karen is with God and will live forever in the hearts of her devoted and loving family.

Karen was preceded in death by her father, John Kuzma, and brother, Thomas Kuzma.
Surviving are her beloved husband, James “Jim” Patrick Baine, her loving daughter, Emily Green and husband Gary, her step grandson, Alec, her dear mother, Helen Kuzma, her dear siblings, Susan and David Kuzma, her niece and nephew, Katherine (husband Phil) and Alex, and Marc Ehrenkrantz.

Family and friends are welcome to gather for visitation on Tuesday, June 19, 2018 from 10:00AM to 12:00PM at the McCriskin-Gustafson Home for Funerals, 2425 Plainfield Avenue, South Plainfield.
Funeral services will begin at 12:00PM at the funeral home, with interment to follow at the New Jersey Veterans Memorial Cemetery, Wrightstown.

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