Grand Knight Ed Schroeder of Knights of Columbus Council 739, right, presented the council’s inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award to educator Karen Schumaker at Holy Family Parish in Fort Madison last month.
By Lindsay Steele
The Catholic Messenger
FORT MADISON — Knights of Columbus Council 739 presented its inaugural Lifetime Achievement award to educator and catechist Karen Schumaker last month at Holy Family Parish. This award recognizes individuals who demonstrate unwavering dedication to faith, charity and community.
Schumaker has spent more than 40 years teaching youths in parish and Catholic school settings. She prepares religious education students for their first Communion and first reconciliation at Holy Family Parish and teaches religion classes at Holy Trinity Elementary in West Point. In addition, she serves as a cantor, music minister and Altar and Rosary Society member at Holy Family and directs the parish’s annual Children’s Choir and Christmas Pageant. She chairs various school events, leads community Operation Christmas Child efforts, serves as board president for Camp Lookout and volunteers in the Tri-County Rodeo concession stand each year.
“If you’re wondering how one person could be part of so many things, the answer is simple,” Grand Knight Ed Schroeder commented during the award ceremony. “When there is a need, she shows up. Where there’s a child to teach, a song to be sung, a heart to be lifted — she is there. Her service has never been about recognition but today we choose to recognize her. In a world that needs light, she has been a beacon.”
Schumaker’s impact goes beyond service, Schroeder believes. “She has shaped lives. Quietly. Consistently. Unselfishly. She has become a constant presence — a source of kindness, compassion and joy. The deeper you look, the more you realize: this one woman has done the work of many.”
Schumaker told the congregation that she was truly surprised to receive the honor. “I have been blessed with good health that has enabled me to use my God-given talents to teach children and to help our congregation lift our voices in song to praise God.” She said she was deeply humbled to receive the award from the Knights of Columbus, an organization “that does so much to help others in the community.”
