Karen Waldauer, the founder of Middle Atlantic Press and later president of West Chester-based Valleydel Publications, the publisher of County Lines Magazine, died on Jan. 9 aged 84, writes Gary Miles for The Philadelphia Inquirer. 

Waldauer started Middle Atlantic Press in 1968. The regional book publishing firm focused primarily on books about local history and folklore. The titles it published include William Penn’s own Account of the Lenni Lenape or Delaware Indians in 1970 and The Delaware Indian Westward Migration by C.A. Weslager in 1978. 

She sold the business in the early 1980s and soon became president and owner of Valleydel Publications. She retired in 2006. 

Outside of work, Waldauer was an active volunteer. She served as president of the board at the Skating Club of Radnor and was a spokesperson for Philadelphia Skating Club. She was also a member of the entrepreneurial initiative advisory board at Delaware County Community College. 

She tutored adults for Delaware County Literacy Council, started a student newspaper at Sleighton Farms School, and organized seniors in support of President Barack Obama’s political campaigns. 

“She was bright and creative and encouraged curiosity and trying new things,” said her family. 

Read more about Karen Waldauer in The Philadelphia Inquirer.