CLEARVILLE, PA – Karen Jean (Ruby) Hoopengardner, 67, of Clearville, PA, passed away Friday, December 5, 2025, at UPMC-Western Maryland.

Born June 17, 1958, in Baltimore, MD, she was a daughter of the late Joseph and Kathleen (McShane) Ruby. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her sister-in-law and best friend, Betty Ruby; close friend, Donald Swope, Sr.; and her cat who was her baby girl, Miss Meadow.

Karen was a 1977 graduate of Mt. Hebron High School and went on to earn her bachelor's degree in education from University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She was always a dedicated, hardworking person who worked all of her life. There were years during which she held three jobs so that she could ensure that her children were well taken care of and always had something under the Christmas tree. Most recently she had worked as a cashier at Walmart in LaVale, but previously she had worked at the Giant warehouse and as a school bus driver.

A Christian by faith, she believed that the Lord's presence could be felt anywhere – not just at church. She practiced her beliefs daily by making sure that her family never went without anything they needed. Karen sacrificed everything for her children and grandchildren and did her best to instill in them her morals and values. Teamwork and family were incredibly important to her, and her children work daily to keep those values and her traditions alive.

Left behind to cherish Karen's memory is her former husband and long-time best friend, Clifford Hoopengardner; children, Kristine Hoopengardner, Clifford Hoopengardner II, and Shelby (Hoopengardner) Cessna and husband Bradly; beloved grandchildren, Matthew Armstrong, Hunter Hoopengardner, and Aurora Cessna; sister, Kathleen "Pat" Harrington; nephew, Joseph Ruby and wife Nichole, and their children, Adaline, Elijah, and Jude; nephew, Shawn Harrington and wife, Jacki; a number of sisters-in-law; many nieces and nephews; close friends, Mike Ketterman and Melissa (Dolly) Westfall; and her Walmart "family."

Friends will be received at the Scarpelli Funeral Home, P.A., 108 Virginia Avenue, Cumberland, on Tuesday, December 9, 2025, from 2 to 4pm and from 6 to 8pm.

A funeral service will be held at the funeral home on Wednesday, December 10, at 11am.

Interment will be in Beans Cove United Methodist Church Cemetery.