Karen “Casey” Jordan Bauer

Karen Jordan Bauer, known to everyone as Casey, was born August 25, 1952 to her loving parents “Burt” and “Betty” Jordan (Willie and Elizabeth). She is survived by her two children, Bridget Bauer (Jeremy) and Travis Bauer (Niharika), her grandson Cullen Dene Watts-Klein, her siblings Leebett Calar (Dave), James “Jim” Jordan (Lynn), Renee Jordan-Smith, and Georgia Jordan, and by countless other family and friends she made throughout her life.

Casey spoke fondly of her childhood and beloved parents; stories of “the Nottingham House” and “the House on Siskin”, and any stories involving her longtime and childhood best friend, Marcia Wanek, were commonplace to everyone familiar with her. She recounted periodic…disagreements…with her siblings growing up, but “fighting” was always described as nearly a foreign concept. In her adult life when she met her truest love, Randy, she always described being shocked at their early arguments because she never saw her parents fight and assumed married couples just…didn’t. Throughout her relationship with Randy and the various ups and downs, she always maintained her sense of ‘rose colored glasses’ regardless of any “disagreements (fights)” they may have encountered and she loved him deeply through it all. This gentle dismissal of occasional reality resulted in the consequence of becoming “objectively the nicest human I know” (-Quoted directly from her loving son, Travis) and to so many people fortunate to meet her in life. She always tried her best to bring a smile to everyone around her by demonstrating acts of kindness to strangers and loved ones alike. She was so much more than can be encapsulated here, beloved daughter, sibling, wife, mother, favorite Aunt, best friend, and favorite Grammy, but I think anyone that knew her can understand how much she was loved in the world.

Casey graduated college with a degree in Interior Design which she had a deep passion for evident by her well curated collection of art and curios, not to mention her attention to every detail in her home be it the paint on the walls, the clothes she wore, or the garden she spent so much time “puttering” in, as she would fondly say. While practicing her Design degree in retail furniture sales she made a number of lifelong friends at Collette’s, ZCMI Design studio, and finally Granite Furniture. While her love for design never left her, the professional worlds of drafting studios and furniture sales couldn’t hold onto her as she was clearly meant for a more personally fulfilling role as a Mortgage Officer in which she excelled for more than 30 years spanning a few different companies. No matter the challenges she faced in the male dominated arenas of design, sales, or even the mortgage industry, she always comported herself with grace and professionalism and took great pride in being a top performer in each company she joined.

Casey never considered her work as a mortgage loan officer to be just a job as she built very close relationships with her colleagues and clients, she took each family and friend into her heart and worked tirelessly to find them the best options no matter what. Her dedication to that personal attention brought her lifelong clients that followed her across companies and even into retirement because everyone knew she genuinely cared about their circumstances and their successes as much or more so than her own.

Her family would probably say she was a work-a-holic because she regularly answered calls to speak to a client any time of day or night, she never kept “work hours”. She always managed to balance that well with being a loving mother for her kids, a loving partner with Randy, and a caring friend and coworker to everyone around her.

One of the brightest beacons that allowed her to bear her Rheumatoid Arthritis diagnosis, and thankfully find stability with the disease for ~4 years up until the month before she passed, was spending time with her children and grandson. She found great joy in seeing her son Travis marry his wonderful wife, Neha. Casey was also incredibly grateful to spend time with her daughter Bridget, and get to meet her grandson whom she affectionately called “Boo” (Cullen) at his birth and beyond. Much of Casey’s final years were spent finding the best ways to spend more time with her grandson and his siblings (Othilia and Kael). Anyone who spent time with Casey after Cullen was born will be familiar with how excited she was to be a “Grammy”. Being a Grammy was a large catalyst for her “practicing retirement” and eventually fully retiring from the Mortgage industry.

Casey struggled not just physically but mentally with Rheumatoid Arthritis having seen her mother Betty suffer through so much of the disease for so many years before her passing. Despite her fear of the disease she was grateful for the modern medicines and treatments that helped her live a mobile and generally pain free life. Casey was extremely private about her health trials and only her closest circle knew how much it all impacted her day to day. Even they could never quite get the whole story most of the time as Casey refused to ever be considered a burden to anyone, let alone her loved ones.

Casey was deeply devoted to the love of her life, Randy, throughout their life and in spite of their dramatic ups and downs. Despite her own health challenges she took on caring for him during his cancer diagnosis and eventual passing in 2025. The tremendous depth of care she provided cannot be overstated and was supported by his Hospice care team whom she also became good friends with. She loved and mourned him deeply in life and particularly between his passing and her own.

Casey’s Rheumatoid Arthritis eventually caught up to her, impacting her lungs very suddenly after several years of successful management. After a severe incident put her in the ER, just over 2 weeks of battling her own lungs to breathe, and faced with impossibly difficult options, she made the decision to take herself off life-sustaining supplemental oxygen and transfer to the care of Hospice, a service she had great confidence in and saw work wonders for Randy over the last year of his life. She transitioned to Hospice and passed away peacefully and in comfort on May 28th, 2026 surrounded by family.

Casey/Mom/Grammy will be missed more than she will ever know.

She is predeceased by both parents Burt and Betty, and the love of her life, Randy Bauer.

In lieu of flowers the family asks that you please consider a donation in Casey’s name to https://curearthritis.org/donate/(Specify Casey’s name and Rheumatology Research in the “additional info” section)

A celebration of life will be held on Saturday, August 8th from 4-6 PM at Starks Funeral Parlor, 3651 S 900 E, Salt Lake City. Complimentary valet services will be provided, please enter through the north side of the building.