Naugatuck-Karen D. (Fenton) Tabor, age 40, beloved wife of Robert C. Tabor, passed away on Friday May 17, 2024 at Yale New Haven Hospital after a courageous battle with cancer.

She was born on December 21, 1983, daughter of John Fenton, Jr. of Middlebury and Cheryl Fenton of Naugatuck.  Karen was a lifelong resident of Naugatuck. She graduated from Naugatuck High School and from Western Connecticut State University where she earned her Bachelor of Arts Degree in the Arts. It was at Western Connecticut where she and the love of her life Robert became college sweethearts. Karen was an active member of St. Michael's Episcopal Church in Naugatuck. She worked as a graphic designer at Church Hill Classics in Monroe and was an avid photographer and swimmer.  Karen was the unofficial official family photographer and for years, family members would await their annual Christmas gift which was a calendar for the upcoming year featuring in the moment pictures of her children. Her camera was never far from her reach. Karen's children and her family were her true passion and she could always be found volunteering at various school events.

In addition to her parents and her loving husband Robert, she leaves her family, her children Caitlyn Tabor and Dylan Tabor; her sister Kimberly Parlatore and her husband Michael of Torrington; her sister in law Jessica Zalewski and her husband Wojtek of Oxford, her brother in law Gregory Tabor and his wife Ela of Monroe; her mother in law Krystyna Tabor of Naugatuck; and several aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews across the country. Karen was predeceased by her maternal grandparents Edward and Shirley Keane, her paternal grandparents John Fenton Sr. and Pauline Rosza-Fenton, her uncle Lawrence Fenton, and her father in law Czeslaw Tabor. 

Funeral services will be held on Thursday May 23, 2024 at 9 a.m. from the Naugatuck Valley Memorial/Fitzgerald Zembruski Funeral Home, 240 North Main Street, Naugatuck, to St. Michael’s Episcopal Church for services at 10 a.m.  Burial will follow in St. James Cemetery.  Calling hours will be held on Wednesday evening from 5-7 p.m. at the funeral home.  In lieu of flowers, memorial donations in Karen’s name may be made to St. Michael’s Episcopal Church, 210 Church Street, Naugatuck, CT 06770. To send an on-line condolence or share a memory, please visit www.naugatuckvalleymemorial.com