Karen Ricci Berg
February 20, 1953 – September 11, 2022 (age 69)
Karen Joan Ricci was born on February 20, 1953 to Aldo A. Ricci and Rita B. Ricci at Boulevard Hospital in Astoria, New York.
As a child, Karen spent her formative years growing up in this multi-cultural tree-lined neighborhood of Queens and lived with her parents, her younger brother, Mark, and grandparents in a modest, three-story house on 49th Street. She attended Catholic school there and had many friends. Miss Napkin, her Catholic school teacher, remembered her as being a fun-loving and generous child always willing to share with other children. When she turned eight, the family moved to Hartsdale in Westchester County where she attended Woodlands High School. Upon graduating from high school, Karen completed a two-year undergraduate degree from Mercy College in Dobbs Ferry and later attended Berkeley Secretarial School, where she graduated with an administrative certificate.
After receiving her degree from Berkeley, Karen embarked on a career in the corporate world, and held various administrative positions with many Fortune 500 companies, including American Can, James River (Dixie division), American Express, Henckels, Tremont Advisors and Tokio Marine. In 1984 while living in Port Chester, New York, Karen got married to Judson Clyde Berg of Sunnyside, Washington, who she had met on a Caribbean cruise a few years earlier. On November 4, 1985, Karen gave birth to a beautiful baby daughter, Jennifer Erin Berg, and took time off from her career to raise her and became a dutiful mother.
Karen was considered by her family and friends to be a warm, kind-hearted and giving person, always willing to help and lend assistance to those in need. She loved her family, and her two beautiful granddaughters, Sydney and Noelle, who affectionally called her “Mama Kitty” due to her passion for cats. Her favorite musical artist was Rod Stewart and enjoyed cooking, sewing, traveling, and reading. Karen had an active social life and enjoyed shopping and dining out with her many friends.
Karen is lovingly survived by her daughter, Jennifer (Berg) Mueger and her husband, Billy, her two granddaughters (Sydney and Noelle) of Rockville Centre, NY and her brother, Mark Ricci of Hartsdale, NY. She is preceded in death by her parents Aldo and Rita Ricci and her ex-husband, Judson Berg.