Petra Karr added a little spark to life in the Sumner area. COVID-19 stole her away
Petra Karr had the gumption to organize flash mobs and the intuition to see the talent hidden behind someone’s shyness.
She used those gifts to make life better in Sumner.
On April 7, COVID-19 stole Karr away. She was 60.
Karr went to the hospital to continue to fight cancer with chemotherapy treatments in mid-March. There, she tested positive for COVID-19 and died a week later. Her children were on speakerphone as she passed.
“We’re not sure if she heard us,” said Nick Lehman, one of her three grown children. “We’re trying to mourn, but we can’t even be there for each other, and that’s an added layer of difficulty for this.”
Lehman, said his wife, Ashley, gave birth to their daughter last month. Karr never met her first grandchild.
“It’s easy to become numb to the numbers, but it becomes more of a real thing when it hits home,” he said. “I hope that this is a reminder that this is real. It’s not somewhere else — it’s here.
Karr was the artistic director of ACT 1 Theatre. She had a bachelor’s degree in theater from Pacific Lutheran University and was a member of the Washington State Thespian Board, Washington Arts Alliance and the Puyallup/Sumner Chamber of Commerce.
Karr will be remembered in Sumner and Puyallup for building up the community. She pulled people into participating in productions, shows and dances. She did it in such an authentic way, they kept coming back to help, said Shelley Schlumpf, former president & CEO of the Puyallup/Sumner Chamber.
Tom Young was a friend and coworker of more than 40 years. He said some performances organized by Karr could be a little rough around the edges but that nobody much cared.
“It was so much fun, and it was such a great sense of community. Looking at it, it was not a polished dance, but so many people showed up,” Young said. “It was just participation and fun.”
Schlumpf met Karr in 2005. The two partnered to bring more customers to Main Street businesses while promoting Karr’s non-profit production company, ACT I Theatre.
“If you are a business focused on revitalization, she was an asset that gave the area heart to say, ‘Come and stay,’” Schlumpf said.
Karr was never short of new, creative productions.
During Sumner’s Wine Walks, she choreographed a flash mob “Thriller” dance in scarecrow costumes during the fall, and a “sweetheart” dance for February. During one holiday season, she created Norman Rockwell-themed store fronts with community members doing their best to hold poses as hundreds of people walked by.
She also incorporated a murder mystery-themed night for customers, getting people to guess who had stolen the Sumner rhubarb pie.
Sumner’s Mayor Bill Pugh said Karr will never be forgotten.
“She brought song, dance, drama and humor that added an extra spark to life in Sumner, especially in our downtown, through our parades and at her studio,” he said. “We are going to miss her a lot, but we know that every time we have the courage to add a little music, she’ll always be a part of that.”
In rehearsals, Karr encouraged suggestions. She wanted everyone to feel like they were an integral part of the production, Schlumpf said.
Karr’s son said she will be remembered for being accepting of all.
“She took people in: in her studio, her office, her company,” Lehman said. “She was a safe space, a home, to a lot of people who didn’t have one.”
Young recalled one student who grew in confidence under Karr’s tutelage. In his first production, he was timid and not very good.
“It was like, ‘What do you see in this kid?’ He showed up in a second show and then in another show, and he was so much better. Now he does theater, which was not something he intended, but she trusted him and helped him find his place,” Young said. “She had a gift with people and helping people become confident in themselves.”
Lehman wants the community to remember his mom as a firm advocate for the arts and forging relationships with others.
“More than anything, be kind to those around you and share your gifts. That’s the ethos of who my mom was,” he said. “She wanted people to see how we are similar rather than how we are different. She would want everyone to give back.”
