The Making A Neighborhood team is deeply saddened and heartbroken to share the news that our beloved Karen “Kiwi” Burch has passed away at 71. Kiwi was a pillar of the neighborhood, a storyteller, writer, and integral part of our community whose family roots in East Hollywood stretch back over a 130 years.
Kiwi was a griot and keeper of her family’s rich story.
She was born on September 30, 1952 to Josephine Marshall Burch and Bernard N. Burch. She grew up on Westmoreland Avenue in the Dayton Heights area, on the same plot of land that her great grandparents settled and homesteaded in 1891. Much like her parents, grandparents, and great grandparents, Kiwi formed close ties with her Japanese American neighbors. In an interview she recalled how much she loved eating sushi at her friend Christine’s house after school.
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Continuing in her family’s legacy Kiwi attended UCLA where she majored in sociology. She went on to work as a student psychologist at LAUSD for many years as well as working as a multimedia producer for innovative storytelling endeavors.
Eventually, Kiwi returned to Westmoreland where she lived until 2019, after which she moved in with her cousin Eric in Ontario, CA.
The Making A Neighborhood team first became acquainted with Kiwi in 2021 when working on our panel series “Making Our Neighborhood: Redlining, Gentrification, and Housing in East Hollywood.” We were interested in finding out more about the Japanese American history of the area and learned about Kiwi and her family through folks at the Little Tokyo Service Center.
We conducted extensive interviews with Kiwi, learning about her deep connections to this neighborhood and her family’s solidarity with their Japanese American neighbors, helping them safeguard items and property during WWII incarceration.
Meeting Kiwi and learning about her story was shocking in the best way. We could not believe we were in the presence of someone whose existence connected the dots between so many impactful moments in history, not only for the neighborhood and city but for the country. She helped deepen our relationship to the neighborhood and opened our eyes to the complex layers of history, of oppression, and of solidarity that exist on every block.
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Kiwi went on to contribute a four-part series on her family’s history to our newsletter. She attended every anniversary party and event we hosted. Kiwi became like a family member to us and tenderly called us “her kids.”
Kiwi loved basketball, especially UCLA basketball, and her beloved cat Lucy. She was deeply empathetic and cared so much about humanity, even if it broke her heart at times.
One of our last memories was at our two year anniversary party hosted at Bellevue Park in March. We shared coffee and pupusas together and participated in a healing circle. She shared that she was working on holding joy and pain at the same time. And that’s exactly what we are working on. Remembering all the beauty and love we shared with Kiwi, while holding the heartbreak of losing someone so special.
Kiwi is survived by many members of the extended Albright/Marshall/Burch family, including her sister Cheryl McDonald and great aunt Barbara Williams.
We are deeply honored to have met such a beautiful and powerful soul. We believe Kiwi has joined her ancestors and is watching over us. May her legacy live on in our hearts and in the neighborhood.
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Kiwi’s family is asking that financial gifts be made to the Burch Family Scholarship at UCLA or Indivisible Civics.
A memorial celebration will be hosted at Bellevue Park on July 20th. More details to come.
Oh no! It was so cool to see her speak at the picnic and to read her family history. Rest in peace
This is a great loss. We had plans to get together since she moved closer to me and she was able to drive which I couldn’t do yet. I last saw her at another friend’s funeral. I’m so glad to have sat with her that day, the last time I saw this loving friend. She will be missed.