Karl Sears, age 60, of Vestal, NY, passed away peacefully at home with his loving wife and daughters by his side after a valiant fight with brain cancer. Karl is survived by his wife Geralyn “Geri” Sears of Vestal; his daughters, Jennifer (Alan) Gutowski of Philadelphia, PA, and Katherine Sears of Rochester, NY; his parents, William and Christa Sears of Dunnellon Fla.; his sisters, Mary (Gary) Boucher of Burlington, CT, Loren (Michael) Kiefer of Harwinton, CT, and Lynn (Dean) Langlais of Torrington, CT; his sister in law Terri (James) Carey of Wallingford, CT, and brother in law Joseph Orts of Branford, CT; also many nieces and nephews. Karl was a devoted and loving husband and father. He earned engineering degrees from both University of Bridgeport and Lehigh University. He worked for 34 years at IBM Corp in Endicott, NY. Karl lived life to the fullest, enjoying riding his Harley Davidson with the Binghamton HOG chapter, shooting archery at Neil’s Archery in Endicott, riding his tractor, hunting, and gardening. He enjoyed coaching Vestal Youth soccer for many years. He gained strength from his faith and was a member of Our Lady of Sorrows Parish in Vestal, NY. Karl was the recipient of the Best Father Award for 29 years in a row. He was a patient teacher of many life lessons and will be greatly missed by all. The family would like to extend their deep appreciation to Dr. Readling and the Broome Oncology staff, and to Dr. Vlahovic, Sharon Smith and staff at Duke University for their exceptional care of Karl.
Funeral Services will be held Friday 9:30 am rom the Allen Memorial Home 511-513 East Main Street Endicott, followed by a Funeral Mass at Our Lady of Sorrows Church at 10 am. Burial will be in Vestal Hills Memorial Park. The family will receive friends at the Allen Memorial Home Thursday from 4-7 pm. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Caring House of Durham, NC (caringhouse.org), or Karl’s Angels Among Us Walk team, benefiting Duke University Brain Cancer Research (angelsamongus.org).