Karen Lucille Howard, 89

Karen Lucille Howard, age 89, passed away on Sunday, July 10, 2022. Karen was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, to Glenn and Lucille (Siebold) Kline on February 28, 1933. She graduated from North Side High School in 1951 and was proud to be a Redskin. She married Charles G. Howard on September 10, 1952, at St. John’s Church of Christ in Fort Wayne, Indiana, They started dating when Chuck was 15 and Karen was 16. Chuck would drive from Hamilton to Fort Wayne without a license. Once Karen got in his car, he was a legal driver. Karen really enjoyed growing up in Fort Wayne. In the summertime, she would join neighborhood kids playing softball in the street. Also, she would go to the movies downtown with her girlfriends, and they would all walk home with her being the last one to reach her home on Pemberton Street. Karen’s favorite memories were when her Dad got off work from GE on Friday’s and would drive up to their cottage at Penn Park on Hamilton Lake. This cottage was then owned by Chuck and Karen until the late 1990’s.  Karen held the position of Treasurer for Hamilton Community Schools from 1970 – 1997. Chuck and Karen enjoyed traveling, spending many winters in Florida. Together they had been to 48 States, Canada, Mexico and Brazil. They had many, many friends. Karen and Chuck were civic minded citizens. They were willing landowners who donated land to Fish Creek Trails and Fee-Howard Wetlands in Hamilton, Indiana.

Survivors include her son, Charles W. (Nila) Howard; daughter, Dawn (Dennis) Mullins, all of Hamilton; Karen’s family also included the following grandchildren and great-grandchildren, Herbert W (Christina) Howard and their children, Emma, Georgia May and Lathan, all of Hamilton; Leah (Patrick) Hicks and their children Lydia and Nicholas of Angola; Charles D. (Alison) Howard, and their children Ivy and Violet of Hamilton; Margaret May (Lance) Garman and their children Memphis and Evelyn of Butler; Michele (Bradley) Hancock and their child Nash of Angola; Michael McDowell and Jessica Coolman and their child, Carson of Hamilton; Melania Torres, an exchange student of Fortaleza, Ceara, Brazil; brother-in-law, Robert (Jean) Howard of Hamilton; sister-in-law, Jane (Bryan) Culver of Clay City, Indiana.  Karen’s husband Chuck preceded her in death on March 30, 2022.  They had a very loving relationship and were married for almost 70 years.  Karen was preceded in death by her parents; one brother, Ned Kline; one great-granddaughter, Ila Howard; one foster son, Lee Black.

Graveside services for Karen L. Howard will be held beginning at 11:30 a.m., Saturday, July 23, 2022, at Hamilton Cemetery with family member Robert Keith Howard officiating. There will be a fellowship meal immediately after the service at the Hamilton United Methodist Church, 7780 S. Wayne Street, Hamilton, Indiana. Arrangements are under the care of Oberlin-Turnbull Funeral Home, Hamilton, Indiana.

Those planning an expression of sympathy are asked to consider memorial contributions be made to Hamilton United Methodist Church or the Hamilton Fire Department.

Condolences may be sent to the family, or the online guest book may be signed at www.oberlinturnbull.com