Captain Karen Sue Pruett Baer, RN, U.S. Navy, died at her home in Oak Harbor on December 10, 2014, at the age of 49, following an 18-month battle with pancreatic cancer.
She was born on November 20, 1965, in Columbus, Ohio, the daughter of Harry and Paula Wolfe. She graduated from Jonathon Alder High School in 1984 and was awarded a full scholarship to Ohio State University. She graduated from Ohio State in 1989 with a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing. After graduation, she accepted a direct commissioning in the Navy Nurse Corps, attending Officer Indoctrination School in Newport, Rhode Island, from June to August 1989. After a busy year as a staff nurse on 5 West, a 42-bed GYN/Oncology/Plastics and ENT surgical ward, she deployed to the USNS COMFORT during Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm from August 1990 to April 1991. While deployed, she worked as a staff nurse in the Head/Neck Trauma and Surgical ward. In her free time, she worked with five other nurses to institute mass casualty drills involving the entire crew.

After returning to Bethesda, her leadership selected her to serve as the Assistant Division Officer in the Antepartum/Postpartum ward. A year later she transferred to the Post Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) where she worked as a staff nurse and was then selected as the PACU’s Assistant Division Officer. She became a Trauma Nurse Care Course (TNCC) instructor and chaired the parent advisory board of the Command’s new daycare center which represented over 300 parents. Due to medical issues with her newborn, she remained at Bethesda until 1996 to ensure these issues had fully resolved. In April 1996 she transferred to the Medical Clinic at the U.S. Naval Academy to become the Assistant Department Head in Pediatrics. She continued training nurses in TNCC, volunteered for medical coverages and taught 300 midshipmen basic first aid. She also became active in customer service training, eventually resulting in the clinic’s first receipt of a $25,000 customer service award.

In 1998 she went to Naval Hospital Rota, Spain, and worked as the Emergency Department Division Officer and the inpatient Department Head to prepare both areas for Joint Commission inspections. Highlights from this tour included being on the NASA Space Shuttle medical support team and part of the Naval Hospital Rota Nurses team that taught TNCC to 40 embassy nurses from the Middle East. Recognized for her nursing expertise, the Navy Nurse Corps selected her for DUINS as a Medical-Surgical Clinical Nurse Specialist at the University of Virginia where she met Emil on December 14, 2002. Once equipped with her degree, Karen arrived at Bremerton Naval Hospital in July 2003 as the only Clinical Nurse Specialist assigned to the hospital. She worked with the Internal Medicine department to establish the Hospitalist program and became an integral part of training residents in the care of congestive heart failure and community acquired pneumonia patients. Once again selected to fill a leadership role, she served first as the Inpatient Department Head and then as the Assistant Surgical Services Director, which culminated in her promotion to Commander on July 27, 2005. Her personal life also blossomed with Karen and Emil marrying on July 31, 2005. In 2007 she transferred to the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, serving as a Department Head and then as the Senior Nurse for all nine inpatient departments. During this tour, she deployed to Kuwait as the Senior Nurse Executive from July 2008 to February 2009. Finally, in 2011, promoted to the rank of Captain, she dual-hatted the high profile roles of Director of Nursing and Interim Executive Officer at Naval Hospital Oak Harbor, Washington.

Karen loved the Navy and her family very deeply. She is survived by her husband, Emil, and children, Patrick Pruett at Washington State University and Kathryn Pruett at the University of Washington, and by two brothers, Lee Wolfe of Columbus, Ohio, and Steve Wolfe of Marysville, Ohio. She attended the Oak Harbor Seventh-day Adventist Church. She enjoyed her hobbies of quilting and stained glass.

Her military decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal (one award), Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (six awards), Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (one award), Southwest Asia Service Medal, Kuwait Liberation Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Overseas Ribbon, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon and various other unit, expeditionary, and service awards.

Family and friends will gather to celebrate Karen’s life on Monday, December 15, 2014, at NAS Whidbey Island Base Chapel with CDR Michael Hakanson, CHC, USN officiating. Burial with full military honors will follow at Maple Leaf Cemetery, Oak Harbor, Washington. The family suggests memorial donations be made to the Wounded Warrior Project, 2223 Alaskan Way Suite 220, Seattle, WA 98121.

Please visit Karen’s page in the Book of Memories at www.wallinfuneralhome.com to share condolences and memories. Arrangements are entrusted to Wallin Funeral Home & Cremation, LLC, Oak Harbor, Washington.

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