Karen Louise

 I am so very blessed to have had such a wonderful woman as my mother-in-law.  She loved her family unconditionally, always.  She admired her grandchildren, she was devoted to her husband and their life on the farm, she was extraordinarily proud of her children and told stories and shared news about them often, and she always accepted and loved me with arms wide open.  I loved her telling stories, I loved the way she loved watching the kids play, and I loved her entirely.  

She will greatly be missed by me, by Keane, by our children, and by the huge family she raised, including six children, sixteen grandchildren, and seventeen great-grandchildren (with more on the way).  

Donn said he always told her he wanted to die first, and she wasn't to leave him here without her.  He misses her so much - his lifelong companion.  He said they first started dating when she was 14 years old.  While they knew of each other before, they first met when they both sang in a church choir in Wellsville around Christmas-time.  They were high school sweethearts (going to different schools), and they both with to Truman State for a short time together.  

They got married in 1960 and then shortly after, bought their first piece of land and moved a 10x50 ft trailer there.  Karen had told me that Daniel was 1st one born after they moved there, so they must have had Del prior to living there (he was born in 1961).  

Karen loved the color blue, loved every wildflower bouquet Donn brought home to her, and absolutely loved her dogs, Heidi, and more recently, Baylee.  She was pretty tech-savvy for her age and loved sending and receiving photos and kept track of records for years.  

The last in-person visit I got with her, she proudly watched the girls playing with the white dove pet at the nursing home she was at for the last couple weeks of her life, and she told me the story about when she was a kid and lived in Wellsville, she had a parakeet and took its cage outside to clean it, and her bird flew out and went soaring above her in the air, and then swooped back inside the cage and she locked it in safely.  She said another time, her sister Jean had a bird that did almost the same thing, but it didn't return.  

Donn said he realized that the world doesn't just stop when Karen left...but it sure feels like it should.  This morning, a cardinal visited Keane on our deck -- a sweet visitor from Heaven 💙  She gets to be with her parents and siblings and son.  I know she is enjoying that, but we really miss her.