City of Oaks Funeral Home & Cremation
Obituary
Karen Lesley Abbott
Raleigh, North Carolina
Age 57.
Died 11/05/2025.
RALEIGH - The memorial service celebrating the life of Karen Lesley Abbott, 57, will be held at Noon on Sunday, November 9, 2025, at the Longleaf Shelter #4 of Lake Johnson Park in Raleigh NC (additional details below). Visitation will immediately follow the service with friends and family encouraged to share a tribute, bring refreshments, and stay afterwards to celebrate Karen’s life.
Karen passed on Wednesday, November 5, 2025. Born January 21, 1968 in Atlanta GA with her brother Keith, Karen was the unexpected tiny gift to a new mother (and twin herself) mistakenly told she’d only be having one really big baby that day. While Karen always maintained her gracefully small stature as her brother continued to grow, she was mighty in force and pursued life with intention, humor and quick wit.
Karen grew up in Columbia SC where she attended Dreher High School with her twin, and had talents and hobbies that she quietly kept to herself. She played Greensleeves flawlessly and naturally on the piano. She was an impressive church youth basketball point guard. She baked and decorated amazing cakes for birthday parties and special events. She read classic novels (Jane Austen was her favorite author) and would wear out her library card. She taught her little sister how to apply makeup, and everyone else how to make her delicious fudge, ensuring they learned how to infuse every batch with love and laughter. She crocheted baby blankets for her sons and nephews, and stitched scarves for her sisters. She framed her needlepoint art as presents. She made the most delicious biscuits and friendship bread. And many a child in need of love and a place to stay found themselves at Karen’s breakfast table. When she had little else to offer, Karen gave the gift of her time to the people she cared about, and to people who simply needed to know they mattered to someone. She rescued every cat that crossed her path. And she was deeply in love with Labrasca’s Pizza and Groucho’s Deli sandwiches, both of Columbia SC (if you know, you know).
And of all the ways Karen was known - sister, aunt, cousin, friend, daughter, coworker, neighbor, baker, quiltmaker, cake decorator, waitress, pianist, caregiver, cat lover, cheerleader, and on and on - her most treasured label was “Mom.”
Karen’s greatest joy was by far her two sons, Noah and Nick. Watching them become who they were meant to be, men she genuinely admired, was the greatest gift she ever received. Karen was the first mom to don a football jersey, a party planner cape, and an attitude in support and defense of her boys.
Karen loved her family and took every opportunity to be present and engaged. Beach trips, mountain trips, lake trips, surprise visits - if you asked her to be there, she and her boys came. Every time.
Karen is survived by her two sons, Noah Fisher Robinson and Nicholas (Nick) Walton Robinson both of Raleigh NC, along with her sisters Julie Abbott Hayne (Adams) and Deanna Marie Rudnick (Kelly), and her nieces and nephews whom she adored: Boyd, Riley, Gabriela, Joe, Jason, Sarah and Savannah.
Karen is predeceased by her mother Martha Jane Jernigan, father Paul Leslie Abbott, twin brother Keith Paul Abbott, and nephew Taylor.
Karen will be missed by all who knew and loved her, no one more so than Noah and Nick.
Memorial Service Details: Noon Sunday, November 9th at Longleaf Shelter #4 of Lake Johnson Park in Raleigh NC. Parking is closest at the South Parking Lot near 5041 Avent Ferry Road 27606. Alternate parking 0.3m across the bridge with restroom facilities at the Waterfront Center, 4601 Avent Ferry Road 27606.
The family would like to thank everyone for their loving support. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Alley Cats and Angels, Advocates for Forgotten Felines dedicated to improving the lives of the stray, abandoned, and feral cats within the Triangle area. https://alleycatsandangels.org/our-wish-list/
For additional information or for service details, please reach out to the family directly.
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City of Oaks Cremation and Funeral Home is a full-service funeral home in Raleigh, serving all of North Carolina and beyond. We provide an alternative to costly funeral homes and every day we help families in Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and all over North Carolina make simple, affordable funeral arrangements.
Simply having to reach out to a funeral home can feel overwhelming. Our goal is to simplify the entire funeral home experience and make the process as easy as possible. We hope to eliminate any unnecessary surprises by publishing our total cost and the services we provide directly on our website. All of our obituaries are provided free of charge as a way to help families celebrate and commemorate the lives of their loved ones.
Our Promise
Apples to Apples
Just like all other licensed funeral homes in North Carolina, City of Oaks Cremation, LLC is regulated by the NC Board of Funeral Service.
The same laws that apply to the big corporate funeral homes also apply to the modest independently owned firms like ours. All crematories in North Carolina, regardless of who owns them, are inspected annually by the state and must adhere to the same rules and laws.
Genuine Care
We're committed to providing families within our community unsurpassed service before, during and after the time of loss.
Our staff will provide clear communication to your family through each step as we move forward from the original phone call notifying us of a death to the time we deliver the urn back to your family. We will treat your family with the utmost respect, as we honor the wishes of your loved one.
We promise to make this process affordable and as endurable as possible.
State Wide
Our Funeral Home is located in Wake County NC; however, we provide our services to families throughout the entire State.
Unlike other funeral homes, we don't charge an additional mileage fee. Regardless of what county you live in, we can help your family with making simple, affordable funeral arrangements. From Asheville to Wilmington, we're proud to help families statewide.
Our Services
$1196.75
Nobody likes surprise costs added in at the last minute. We guarantee you will not find any hidden charges here. We include everything you need for a simple or direct cremation. Simple, affordable and reliable. We have not changed the cost of our direct cremation service since we opened City of Oaks in 2012.
$2875.66
We offer the option of choosing how you receive your loved ones remains. Selecting our Direct Cremation with Solidified Remains option is a beautiful way to transform cremated remains into 40-60 “stones” that you can hold.
$1917.84
City of Oaks Funeral Home and Cremation provides an affordable cremation option with onsite visitation. Nobody likes surprise costs added in at the last minute. We guarantee you will not find any hidden charges here. Simple, affordable and reliable.
$1596.75
City of Oaks Funeral Home and Cremation provides an affordable cremation with a private family viewing. A private family viewing allows up to 10 immediate family members or friends to spend time with a loved one when a public visitation is not preferred.
$2497.50
An immediate burial has the same end result as a traditional burial; however, we have eliminated the extra (sometimes unnecessary) services prior to getting to the cemetery. Not everyone wants an open casket for viewing or a limousine for the family. Despite the term immediate, we can move as fast as you need or as slow as you like. This option simply allows you to save money by eliminating some of the fancy extras at the funeral home.
$6081.48
We offer the same traditional funeral services as the big corporately owned funeral homes in the area; however, we cost about half the amount. You might consider a traditional funeral service if your family is looking for an open casket visitation, a traditional church service or a funeral service in the funeral home's chapel. A traditional funeral service can be altered to fit the needs of your family.
$3033.75
This establishment is one of a select number of funeral homes who meet the criteria for providing green funeral service by the Green Burial Council; a tax-exempt, nonprofit organization working to encourage environmentally sustainability in the field of funeral service. Our Green options allow for a funeral to take place without the use of toxic and non-biodegradable materials/chemicals.
$2640.59
As an alternative to traditional cremation, City of Oaks Funeral Home also offers Aquamation. The Aquamation process, often referred to as alkaline hydrolysis, uses a solution of water and potassium hydroxide to facilitate natural decomposition.