Karen Kay Utter began her journey on February 6th, 1949 in Corpus Christi, Texas. She was born to William J. and Oleta Bell Utter as the youngest of six children. She had curly, white hair as a child and loved to quietly watch her mother cook . . . especially when she made fudge. Karen and her sister would swing their arms in the air to mimic her mother whipping the chocolate in the bowl until it lost its gloss and was ready to pour. Being the youngest of six, Karen was able to spend her childhood days playing with her nieces and nephew who were close in age to her. Her favorite times were spent pretending “post office” with them. She has many fond memories of her childhood. These mostly involved family get-togethers where her mother made her famous mouth-watering beef roast and egg noodles which Karen would eventually learn to do for her family. But, as much as she experienced and learned in her younger years, the most critical decision that she ever made was to accept Jesus as her Savior when she was a young girl. After graduating from Mary Carroll High School, she went to work in a local department store; shortly thereafter, she became a bank teller for several years. In all this time, Karen was a vital blessing to her parents. At the age of 24, she accepted a blind date arranged by her “postman” nephew to the Pelican’s Wharf. Six months later, her and Westley West Atwood would marry in the Weber Road Baptist Church in Corpus Christi, Tx. Seven years later, Karen and Wes had four children. They had lived in Corpus Christi, Odem, and then settled in Sinton—just down the road from her parents. Karen was a Sunday school teacher and soul winner for many years. She was a prayer warrior, keeping journals of prayers prayed for and answered. She prayed alongside her husband for her family every morning and was often heard answering any dilemma with “Just pray about it!” Strong in her faith, she simply believed God would take care of each need. She was also a devout reader of the Bible. In fact, she read through the entire Bible numerous times and even accepted and completed a challenge to read through the whole Bible in one month! In the mornings, she could always be found sitting on the couch in the living room reading her Bible. Karen was genuinely most content just being at home around her family. . . working in the yard with Wes, chatting with her kids, or playing checkers with her grandkids. She was committed to her home and family and never missed an opportunity to support them. She’s famous for saying, “Can’t never could,” and “If a job’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right.” She always (quite firmly) inspired her family to do the very best they could in all they did. She pushed herself as well—from impromptu speeches for her husband’s business classes to steadying scaffolding for him with one eye nervously closed. Not surprisingly, her favorite hymn has always been “Our Best”. Karen had the gift of wisdom, and she would carefully and quietly discern each situation with much prayer before making a decision. Her favorite Bible verse was Isaiah 40:31, “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” True to her character, she fought long and hard for three years before going to see her Savior. Her story is a testament of God’s love and richest blessings: all who knew her will be forever touched and inspired by her incredibly strong faith and fight ‘til the finish. She is survived by her loving husband, Wes of 47 years, their four children: Mike (Peggy) Atwood, Kevin (Karlye) Atwood, Leslie (Bryan) Butler, and Jason (Aimee) Atwood; fourteen grandchildren: Melanie, Emily, Abigail, Anna, Olivia, Emma, Carson, Will, Samantha, Connor, Oliver, Jack, Ava, and Grayson; two great-grandchildren: Laney and Marlo; her brother Dwain Utter, and sisters Marla Garner and Cheryl Loveday. She is preceded in death by her parents, William and Oleta Utter, brother William Utter, and sister Joleta Chapman.
A graveside service honoring Karen will be held at Evergreen Cemetery in Odem, TX on Saturday, April 2 at 3:00 pm.
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