Donna Louise (Boten) Karns (1943-2016)

KARNS, BOTEN, DACEY

Posted By: Mark Christian
Date: 4/2/2016 at 15:08:32

Obituary from Billings Gazette, Billings, Montana:

Donna Louise (Boten) Karns, 72, passed into the loving arms of her Lord on March 17, 2016 after an all-too-brief battle with cancer.

Funeral Liturgy will be at 10 a.m., April 4 at St. Ann’s Cathedral. O’Connor Funeral Home is handling arrangements.

Eldest child of Linda Agnes Dacey and Wayne Lester Boten, Donna was born in Waltham, Massachusetts on Dec. 26, 1943 and grew up in Nevada, Iowa. She attended Central Elementary and Nevada Junior High and Senior High Schools, participating in Girl Scouts, Pep Cub, the yearbook staff, a theatre production of Little Women, and the Echo student newspaper. Ever hard-working, Donna earned cash by babysitting, shucking corn, and slinging fries and shakes at the local burger joint—Starbuck’s. She also helped raise younger brothers JR and Billy while both parents worked.

Ever industrious, sometimes mischievous, Donna graduated high school and set off with five Nevada girlfriends to attend the American Academy of Beauty in Des Moines in the Fall of 1962, where they enjoyed the freedom of the ”big city” while honing their trade. One of her girlfriends loved the hairstyle Donna designed for her so much that she wears it to this day. Having a vocation allowed Donna to put herself through college at Iowa State University where she obtained a degree in education and met her future husband. Donna and Mike spent five years in Fairmont, Minn., where she taught school, worked at the hardware store, and started her family.

They moved to Billings in 1976, where she made a number of friends through Mike’s work, softball team, and her involvement with Beta Sigma Phi sorority. She learned to ski at Red Lodge Mountain, and became a soccer coach for her daughter’s YMCA team. They moved to Great Falls in 1981, where she became active in PTA, serving in leadership roles and attending several national conferences. Too restless to merely volunteer, Donna went back into the workforce as fund development director for the former Big Sky Girl Scout Council, where she served as the “Cookie Queen” for over 20 years before retiring in 2010. She served on boards of directors and volunteered with numerous local non-profits, including YWCA Mercy Home, Galerie Trinitas, CASA-CAN, and PEO. She continued to utilize her cosmetology skills with a kitchen beauty parlor for friends and family, serving as Mike’s barber for 46 years.

Donna is survived by devoted husband, Michael; children Cari (Jeff Lanphear) of Colorado Springs and Chad (Heather) of Denver; and four beautiful grandsons Liam, Danny, Dylan, and Jack.

She was preceded in death by her mother, father, and two brothers.

Donna loved to dance, bowl, play Symphony bridge, and read literature. Brilliant, vivacious, generous, and wryly witty, she was beloved by nearly all who knew her. She will forever be remembered for her constant smile, twinkling eyes, and compassionate spirit.

In lieu of flowers, Donna requested donations to Lung Cancer Research Foundation, 155 East 55th Street, Suite 6 H, New York, NY 10022, or charity of the donor’s choice.