Karen Doub (nee Alexander) passed away peacefully in her home on Sunday, Sept. 15, in Marblehead, following a multiyear battle with cancer.
She is survived by her devoted husband John, with whom she celebrated 54 years of marriage in August. She was mother to John (Tania) of Marblehead; Kelsey (Trevor) of Swampscott; and adoring grandmother to Johnny and Christian Doub and Clara, Deacon and Silas Henry; and grandpup Lucky. She is also survived by sisters Nancy (Bill) Morrison of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, and Janet Alexander of Tequesta, Florida, and brother John (Karen) Alexander of Menifee, California.
Karen was born on Sept. 11, 1946, to Gerard and Olive Alexander, in the original Mary Alley Hospital. Their family moved away from town when she was 6 months old, so she remained unsure if she was considered a true “Header.” Her father’s career with companies like DuPont and B.F. Goodrich pulled the family to different homes in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Ohio, where their parents often hosted company parties; Karen would always be found late at night on the stairs, watching and reporting on the party down below.
Upon graduation from Denison University, Karen moved to Boston and met her husband John when they both worked at IBM. In 1970, they moved to Marblehead, fell in love with the seaside town, and stayed to raise their family. After leaving IBM, Karen went to First National Bank of Boston where she continued to work following the birth of son John, before eventually leaving to found Irresistibles, the business that would become one of her legacies.
Karen took advantage of the opportunity offered by the redevelopment of Faneuil Hall Marketplace in 1977 to open Irresistibles’ first storefront and never looked back, with 10 locations currently. While the offerings and locations up and down the East Coast have changed throughout the past 47 years, the key to Irresistibles’ success has always been Karen’s keen eye for what her customer wanted. Husband John joined her one year in, and for the past 46 years they were an unstoppable team at the helm of the company. Karen loved her work and loved the relationships she had with her customers, co-workers, manufacturer reps and everyone she encountered at Irresistibles.
But no matter how much joy Karen found at Irresistibles (where daughter Kelsey joined her in 2008), her first love was always her family. Ever present in her children’s lives, she served on the board of trustees at Shore Country Day School for six years. Karen never missed a game, swim meet or water polo match, from Marblehead town programs all the way through high school and college games at Exeter, Dartmouth and Middlebury, often driving seven hours roundtrip to watch 60 minutes of play. This continued with her grandchildren’s soccer, football and lacrosse games, where she was a constant presence on the sidelines. She was a great mom and a terrific grandmother; she spoiled her grandchildren rotten and loved every minute of it.
A memorial service will be held on Thursday, Oct. 3, at 11 a.m. at St. Andrews Episcopal Church, 135 Lafayette St. in Marblehead. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to St. Andrews Episcopal Church, her pastoral home for 54 years and where she was baptized 78 years ago. Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be made at eustisandcornellfuneralhome.com for Karen’s family.
