Karen Lee Smith

Karen Lee Smith (Lawhun)

April 10, 1956 – June 1, 2025

Karen Lee Smith (Lawhun) passed away on Sunday, June 1, 2025, at St. Luke’s Hospital in Twin Falls, Idaho. She was 69 years old.

Karen was born on April 10, 1956, in Columbus, Ohio. She later moved to California, where she met the love of her life in the San Fernando Valley during the 1970s. Karen and her husband were married in 1978, and she became a devoted wife and mother. After living in Tehachapi, California, from 1990 to 2010, Karen made Twin Falls, Idaho her home for the past 15 years.

Karen was a proud graduate of James Monroe High School in North Hills, California, class of 1974. She spent many years as a loving stay-at-home mom to her two daughters before joining GE Wind in 2004, where she worked as a lead customer fulfillment specialist until her retirement in 2022.

She is survived by her father, Gerald Lawhun; her daughters, Michelle Allen and Stephanie Smith; her sister, Cindy Thomas; and her two cherished grandchildren, Scarlett Allen and Hendrix Lopez. She was preceded in death by her beloved husband (Michelle and Stephanie’s father) in 2008, and her mother, Georgia Hale (Lawhun), in 1986.

Karen had an incredible love for animals—especially dogs, of which she always had one or more by her side. She had a passion for planting flowers, lovingly calling them her “purdies,” and never turned down a cold Diet Pepsi or an afternoon watching Fox News. Her laugh was one of her most memorable traits—joyful, contagious, and full of life. She found humor in nearly everything and brought that lightheartedness to everyone around her.

More than anything, Karen had a gift for making people feel at home. Her warmth, acceptance, and loving nature touched the lives of many. To know her was to feel loved.

She will be missed beyond words, but we find peace in knowing she is now reunited with her husband once again.