Karen Louise Everitt

Karen Louise Everitt, 86, passed away on September 26, 2026, at Kootenai Health, leaving behind a family who knew without question that they were deeply loved.

Karen was born February 11, 1940, in Rio Tinto, Nevada, to Everett and Mary Mildred Terrill. She grew up in Mullan, Idaho, where having her own mother as her sixth-grade teacher surely provided a few stories of its own. A bright and dedicated student, Karen graduated from Mullan High School as valedictorian of her class, an early reflection of the intelligence and determination she carried throughout her life.

Karen spent much of her working life serving others. She worked at Combination Grocery Store and First National Bank before beginning a long career with Coeur d’Alene Mines, where she worked for more than 25 years before retiring in 2006. But her greatest accomplishments were found in her faith, her family, and the generations she helped shape.

Karen loved Jesus, and her faith was not simply something she talked about; it was something she lived. She was part of Real Life Ministries, loved the hymn In the Garden, and taught her family the importance of faith, kindness, strength, and putting others before themselves. She was incredibly proud of her four daughters and the family that grew around them.

And Karen certainly knew how to enjoy life.

She loved puzzles, football, baseball, feeding the squirrels, and her judge shows. She could watch Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune and come up with the answers so quickly that everyone else barely had time to think. And heaven help the television if Karen believed Judge Judy had reached the wrong verdict. Karen had opinions, and she wasn’t afraid to have them.

She loved family visits, Herb’s “Chic-a-Roni,” and treasured time together at the river cabin, especially the Fourth of July celebrations. She also dreamed of one day traveling to Egypt.

Some of the memories of Karen were wonderfully ordinary. As a teenager, she was allowed to stay home from school to watch the World Series, as long as she did the ironing while she watched. These little stories captured the woman everyone knew: practical, intelligent, witty, thoughtful, sometimes sarcastic, strong, and entirely herself.

And she gave amazing hugs, the kind her family will miss for the rest of their lives.

Karen was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Herb Everitt, her sister Christy Rude, and her brother James Terrill.

She is survived by her four daughters, Teresa (Neil) Sheldon, Eileen (Bob) Roeh, Pamela (Paul) Hendzel, and Deb (Robert) Jaime; her sister, Glenna Sobol; numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren; nieces and nephews; and a large extended family she loved dearly, including bonus family members and others whom Karen welcomed and loved as her own.

For those who loved Karen, there is deep sorrow in saying goodbye, but there is also hope. Her faith looked beyond this life, and her family grieves her absence while trusting the promise she believed: death is not the end.

Karen leaves behind a legacy of faith, family, kindness, strength, laughter, and love, a legacy that will continue through the generations she helped shape.

Family and friends will gather to celebrate Karen’s beautiful life in the spring or summer of 2027. Details will be shared at a later date.

And if her family could sum up the woman they called Mom, Momma, Grandma, Great-Grandma, sister, Aunt and friend, perhaps it would simply be this:

She loved well. She was faithful. And we were all her favorite. ❤️