Karen Rose Alley

Karen Rose Alley, 2025 Rockingham County Fair blue ribbon winner for her banana bread and coffee cake, passed away on Thursday, March 5, 2026. Born on August 18, 1941, in the apartment above her grandparents’ grocery store in Northfork, West Virginia, Karen was the daughter of the late Eldon Gerald and Audrey Elizabeth Gross Rose. She was the sister of Jerry Bruce Rose, who died in the Vietnam War in early 1965, and the devoted wife of 64 years to Oscar Alvin Alley, Jr., known lovingly as Mr. Wonderful. She was preceded in death by both her parents, her brother, and her husband.

A 1959 graduate of Huntington High School in Huntington, West Virginia, Karen became a Licensed Practical Nurse in her early twenties. She later devoted herself to raising a family with Oscar, filling their home with warmth through her love of baking. Her banana bread and coffee cake, made with generosity and joy, became legendary among family and friends. Karen was also a passionate writer whose poems and stories appeared in the monthly periodical Good Old Days. She served as a cheerleading coach for the Westwood, Kentucky Boys Club and was an active member of the Valley Greeters and Valley Greeters Book Club in Harrisonburg, Virginia, for 24 years.

Karen and Oscar were longtime members of Vision of Hope United Methodist Church. For the last two years of her life, she resided at Sunnyside Retirement Community in Harrisonburg, where she embraced every opportunity to participate in activities and clubs. Her involvement extended to the community’s advertising efforts, including starring in a recent television commercial. She remained deeply grateful to the Sunnyside staff for the care and fulfillment they brought to her final years.

She is survived by her three children, Robert Martin Alley and wife Mary Cheryl of Tyrone, Georgia; Lisa Alley Shaak and husband John Carl of Newnan, Georgia; and Dr. Jerri Lynn Alley of Harrisonburg, Virginia. She is also survived by her grandchildren Chase Nicholas Alley and wife Hayley Joyce of Klamath Falls, Oregon; Jackson Kendall Alley of Coral Gables, Florida; Audrey Shaak Penshorn and husband Thomas William of Houston, Texas, along with their son Bruce Thomas Penshorn; Allie Shaak Nott and husband Jordan Anderson of Greenville, South Carolina; Andrew Philip Shaak of Daphne, Alabama; and Stella Rose Alexiou and Ezra “Link” Alley of Harrisonburg, Virginia.