Karen Pereira was the first of her generation, born to Edward Sonny-Boy Porter and Harriet Robinson Porter, on May 4, 1954. Many of you addressed her with the moniker, KP. And when she was rip roaring, over the top, acting out, it was KSP. Keyser Soze Pereira.
KP was a planner. As a young child growing up in the South Bronx, all on her own she found a church and was baptized. At 14 she made plans to get her own apartment. And she planned quite a few gatherings over the years.
She was her mom's Brave Bull. Harriet taught her how to sew. She decked out her dad in leisure suits, John Shaft style, made three royal blue hot pants suits for herself and two friends and proceeded to Times Square to sneak into the movies. She even designed and made her wedding dress.
Her dad would always say, "One day you are going to have respond to the question, what have you done with the life you have been given?"
Karen obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Biology, with a Certification in Elementary Education from Lehman College. Never taught a class after student teaching. She knew her limits. She also received a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Information Technology Management from The Hagan School of Business, Iona College. She remembered what Sonny-Boy said back in the day, "Computers are the future". She retired as a Digital Marketer in 2017, having worked at companies such as MasterCard Worldwide, Wyndham Hotel Group and Citibank.
With an entrepreneurial spirit, Karen opened her own business, K-Unlimited, that capitalized on a few of her talents, catering, sewing and makeup artistry. During her retirement, Karen embarked on website development, pro bono, notably for Girls Quest, a non-profit organization.
Karen met her husband of 42 years, Victor at her first job out of college. They grew up a few blocks from each other in the South Bronx, but never crossed paths until 1977 in Brooklyn at Consolidated Mutual Insurance Company. From this union, a child was born, Christian. "KP, VP and CP, we are family."
Karen loved music and dancing. She was always the first person on the dance floor.
You might have seen her driving around with the car windows open, blasting "Music" by Eric Sermon/Marvin Gaye. She loved some of the silliest songs like, "Moves Like Jagger", by Maroon 5, and "Sugar, Sugar" by the Archies. She was an avid sports fan. Yankees, Mets, Giants, Jets, Knicks, Nets, everything New York (don't tell Vic).
All and all, Karen had a serious side too. Really serious. She was blessed with the opportunity to reflect and let go of some of the seriousness. With that time, she replaced the seriousness with laughter. She purposely set out to find laughter every day. And laugh she did. You helped her laugh.
Karen is predeceased by her sister Robin, her brother Derek and her mother-in-law Magnolia. She is survived by her husband, Victor, "You Make Me Feel Brand New" (The Stylistics), her son, Christian, "Only One" (the old Kanye West),her daughter in love, Erika, her sister, Phyllis, her niece, Nikea, her grand-nephew, Edward; her niece, Justine; her brother-in-law, Tony; her sister-in-law, Rachel and; her BFF, Renee and her god-daughter, Monica, her husband Melvin and her three children. Karen is also survived by her aunt Delores. She is additionally survived by a host of loving first, second and third cousins and cherished friends.
Routed and grounded in the word, through teachings at Grace Gospel Baptist Church to Woodycrest United Methodist Church, of which she is still a member, to her worship with the Convent Avenue Baptist Church, she held strong to her faith.
Karen was ready to answer the question, "What have you done with the life you were given?"
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, June 15th 2024 at 10 AM at Riverdale-on-Hudson Funeral Home, 6110 Riverdale Avenue, Bronx, NY.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions are suggested to NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital or The American Cancer Society