Hello all,

I have been hearing from more of you in recent days, asking about the online absence of Kaaren Hoback* of late. Kaaren had heart surgery last month and was rarely posting while recovering. That was going well until complications developed, putting her back in the hospital in mid-May. Her recovery is not going well and we do not know when she will be back with us.

Kaaren has many sewing friends around the world and we will try to keep you advised of her condition as best we can without intruding on her family's privacy. Please do not telephone Caesar as he has enough on his plate just now. Please do not send flowers as they are not allowed in the ICU. If you choose to send a card, please suggest that a reply or response is not expected. This is just my personal preference as I do not wish to add any burdens to the family at this time.

Children of both Caesar and Kaaren are at her house, helping out. Kaaren's long-time friend Sam is at the hospital and will let us know what she can. If anyone would like to help out, the best I can suggest just now is that you chip in on one of Kaaren's personal projects (like the club site and answering fit and sewing questions on the forum) and keep things going for her. I'll deal with her company emails as best I can, but anything sent to her personal AOL email account will not be seen.

Please pass this note to others that Kaaren knew that do not read the forum posts. Thank you all for your patience, consideration, and sharing our concerns about our dear friend. She will be in our prayers....

- Bob Clardy

* For anyone reading this that did not already know her, Kaaren has been the lead designer, test lead, online instructor, and customer support person for both Livingsoft and My Pattern Designer for many, many years. She has been active in enumerable clubs, groups, and sewing related activities her entire life. Most of the forum's admin postings have been Kaaren, helping customers and visitors with any issues relating to Dress Shop, MPD, sewing, fitting, and measuring.

Bob, Thank you for letting us know about Kaaren's health issues right now. Many prayers are sent up for her & her family. We all will be patient. Bobbieann in N.E. Ga. USA

It appears that hackers have again gotten access to Kaaren' personal email account. I received 15 spam emails from it this morning. I'm sorry that we cannot disable that account. I have notified her family and maybe they can do something.

In the meantime, if you get email from Kaaren's Patrns4u account, just delete it. She is not sending or reading email at this time. Also, if you have written there in the past month or so and have not gotten an answer, see if you can find the email that was sent and forward it somewhere else. For Livingsoft or MPD related issues, send email to info1@LivingsoftNW.com or info1@MyPatternDesigner.com. For fitting advice, I recommend posting here unless anyone can suggest a better alternative.

Thank you all...

Yep, got one & I knew something was funny. Yeah real funny!!! Not.

Kaaren Hoback passed away quietly last night at the Nathan Adelson Hospice in Las Vegas, following complications from her heart surgery in April. It has been a very difficult time for her family, so please continue to not phone them. When funeral or memorial plans are known, I'll tell you of the family's wishes.

I know I am only one of many that consider Kaaren a dear friend and an inspiring lady. I also have had the great good fortune to have actively worked with Kaaren for over 14 years on a variety of pattern drafting projects. Like myself, Kaaren enjoyed those activities daily - on our own time, but every day because it was what we loved doing rather than a burden or obligation. It's hard to imagine living that life without Kaaren in it - launching new projects with her enthusiastic speculations, having her scoff at some of our more unworkable ideas, but diving into those that were actually possible and helping insure they actually got done. With Kaaren's projects, it was always what she thought the sewing community would like and treasure that motivated everything she did.

Designer, tester, teacher, lecturer, writer, sewing enthusiast, and talented silk painter were just a few of the roles I enjoyed watching Kaaren pursue. I also enjoyed ribbing her about her frequently creative spelling and grammar. She was quite capable of literary accuracy, but all too often just plowed along getting her ideas typed and sent without worrying too much about such minutiae. The results were always helpful, but the presentation could be amusing .

Of all the roles she pursued, it was as a partner in Livingsoft and My Pattern Designer that I treasured the most. We shared so much of our lives together there. It won't be the same without her....

I'll post again when the family has had a chance to make plans...

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Dress Shop,

Our sympathy goes to all that knew her & worked with her. So sorry to hear that she is gone. She won't be forgotten. She will be missed.

Bobbieann in N.E. Ga.

So sad to hear the news of kaarens passing,she will be sadly missed,outstanding lady!!plus teachings of the software.Prayers go to everyone.

Kaaren will be deeply missed by her us, her Livingsoft family. Her passion was to teach us how to use our software to its fullest. Without her expertise and help, many of us would still be struggling.
Our prayers and thoughts are with Caesar and her family.
Minnie

I have had the privilege of attending Kaaren's
classes for several years. Even before that I was a faithful user of both Living Soft and MPD products. She has assisted me on several occasions in working out fitting issues. She will be greatly missed. My prayers go out to her family.

I am so saddened to hear this news. I feel I know Kaaren so well although I have never met her. She did so much and as you say because she enjoyed doing it. The family and all her friends are in my thoughts. Marge UK

I too am saddened to learn of Kaaren's passing. I never met her either but felt I knew her through her videos and instructions. Her expertise will be missed greatly. My thoughts are with her family and friends.
Karen

These are very sad news indeed. But still, a little bit of her essence is in the MPD and DS patterns, and somehow also in the clothes we are making with them.She may be gone but the fruits of her work remain. May she rest in peace.

How terribly sad! I know Kaaren was very dedicated to Dresshop and my pattern designer. Life is WAY too short.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Board Administrator:
Kaaren Hoback passed away quietly last night at the Nathan Adelson Hospice in Las Vegas, following complications from her heart surgery in April./QUOTE]

Hello all,

Please pass the word to any Dress Shop or MPD customers you know - the email address that Kaaren used (patrns4u@aol.com) cannot be accessed by anyone that knows anything about pattern drafting software, sewing, or fitting. Anyone that needs help of that sort should use one of the contact emails on the MPD or Livingsoft web sites' Help pages. While we may or may not be able to provide the kind of help that Kaaren herself could, we can at least forward your query to someone who can. Sending email to Kaaren's AOL address will not get to anyone that can help you.

Thank you all. Best wishes...

- Bob Clardy