×

Karen Smette

UPHAM – Karen Faye

Smette, 73, of Minot, died

Wednesday, Oct. 18,

2017, due to her coura-

geous fight with cancer, at

Trinity Hospital, sur-

rounded by those closest

to her.

Karen was born to El-

mer and Verna (Ahner)

Wahl on Oct. 31, 1943, in

Rugby. She spent her

childhood on the farm

West of Upham before

moving with her family

into Upham in 1952. She

attended Upham Public

School, graduating in

1962. She moved to Seat-

tle, Wash., to work for

United Optical Company

while living with her aunt

and uncle. After spend-

ing four years in Wash-

ington, Karen moved to

Albany, Ore. Karen mar-

ried Merlyn Smette on

July 21, 1969, and they re-

turned to Upham in 1971,

where they owned

numerous bars. In 1980,

Karen and her family

moved to Sidney, Mont.,

where Karen worked for

an optometry clinic as

well as a Sidney Country

Club. In 1986, Karen and

her family returned to Up-

ham once more before she

moved to Surrey in 1991,

and then making her final

move to Minot in 2001.

Karen worked in the op-

tometry field for 53 years

before retiring from John-

son Eye Care and Eyewear

of Minot on Dec. 31, 2016.

On July 31, 2017, Karen

was diagnosed with

stage-four brain, lung, and

adrenal cancer. She be-

gan treatments to stop the

cancer, but the cancer

proved stronger. She was

named as one of the bene-

ficiaries for the 4th Annu-

al Race to Remember Bar-

rel race held in conjunc-

tion with the Y’s Men

Rodeo in Minot, and Dr.

Darin Johnson and John-

son Eyecare and Eyewear

staff collected donations

also to support the fight

against cancer in her

name. Karen was loved

by many and had more

support than she ever im-

agined with her battle

against cancer.

Karen surrounded her-

self with friends and fami-

ly. She loved everyone

deeply and truly. She

was selfless, courageous,

and beautiful. Her per-

sonality could light up an

entire room and she made

everyone she ever met

laugh. She loved to be in

the kitchen and if anyone

wanted a home cooked

meal or any type of

dessert, you could always

count on her to have it on

her table waiting. Her

laugh was infectious and

her smile could bring joy

to everyone. She had a

special place in her heart

for her children,

grandchildren and

great-grandchild. She

lived her life for others

and never asked for any-

thing in return.

Karen’s family would

like to take this opportun-ity to express their grati-

tude for all the acts of

kindness the last couple

months. Your compassion

and friendship will al-

ways be appreciated.

Family: Karen is sur-

vived by her three chil-

dren, Tina (Shawn) Raap,

Mohall, Tonya Naumann,

Mohall, and Tyler (Jessi-

ca) Smette, Upham; eight

grandchildren, Shana

(Josh) Gottschall, Shelby

Volk, Morgan Raap, Chey-

enne Naumann, Makena

Raap, Levi Lenton, and

Haylee and Hannah

Smette; one

great-grandchild, Cooper

Gottschall; sisters, Evonne

Marsh, Anchorage, Alas-

ka, Myrna Renshaw, Boze-

man, Mont.; brother, Rod-

ney (Colleen) Wahl, Far-

go; several nieces,

nephews and cousins also

survive.

Karen was preceded in

death by: her parents, El-

mer and Verna Wahl; son,

Mark Smette; brother,

Duane Wahl; and

brother-in-law, Reed

Renshaw.

Funeral: 10:30 a.m.,

Thursday, Oct., 26, 2017,

at New Hope Lutheran

Church, Upham.

Burial: Little Deep

Cemetery, rural Upham.

Sharing of Memories:

Karen’s family will be

having a Celebration of

Life at Karen’s residence,

1512 46th St SE, Minot,

on Wednesday, Oct. 25,

2017, at 5:30 p.m. Every-

one is welcome to attend

to share food, drinks,

memories, and stories

with her family.

(Brose Funeral Home,

Mohall)