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)