Karin Mannix was born in Corning, New York, the only child of Carrie and Thomas McHale. Later she would reminisce about seeking adventure – she flew, a single girl alone, on a prop-driven 1950s airliner to visit Ireland. Striking out on her own in far-away Poughkeepsie, in short order she caught the eye of a young IBM engineer, Pat Mannix. He asked her out in front of the church, and they were engaged by the third date. Pat and Karin built their Cape-style house in 1961 in a quiet wooded spot. There they would raise their three boys, Shaun, Mike and Tom, in a close-knit neighborhood filled with children who would play until the fireflies came out or they were called in to supper. All three boys would marry and raise families of their own: Karin leaves eight grandchildren.

Karin was fiercely loyal. She maintained correspondence with far-flung pen-pals decade after decade, including with her friend Rosemary in Belfast, 74 years after they began, and with Julie in England. Karin and Pat took "the trip of a lifetime" in 1985 to visit another dear pen-pal Rita on her sheep ranch in New Zealand. Karin dearly cherished all her friends, from her nextdoor neighbors to the other end of the earth.

Karin was a person of faith and self-deprecating humor. Though she referred to herself as "mousy," she demonstrated grit throughout her long life. After her loving husband Pat's passing in 2006, Karin maintained fierce independence, driving to volunteer at the food pantry. Karin was small but mighty - from using a two by four to fend off a dog attacking her beloved miniature collie Snoopy, to steadfastly battling serious and recurring illnesses for the last five decades of her life. Karin left the house that she and Pat built only weeks before she succumbed to her final illness on September 29. She leaves a powerful legacy of faith and family that will live on in all who knew and loved her.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be on Saturday October 8th at 10am, at Our Lady of the Rosary Chapel, 185 Hudson View Drive, Poughkeepsie, NY 12601.

Burial will follow at Union Cemetery of Hyde Park.

In lieu of flowers the family respectfully request memorial donations to the XP Society, 437 Snydertown Rd., Caryville, NY 12521

To send an online condolence or for directions please visit, www.sweetsfuneralhome.com