Karen Haugen

Jun 21, 1953 -

Aug 19, 2020

With great sadness and surrounded by family, Karen Haugen passed away on Aug. 19, 2020.

A visitation will be held on Friday, Aug. 28, 2020, at 12 p.m., at Janssen's Evergreen Memorial Chapel, 737 E Street. Following the visitation, Karen will be laid to rest at 2 p.m. at the Anchorage Memorial Park Cemetery, 535 E. 9th Avenue in Anchorage, Alaska.

Karen was born to Morris and Eleanore in Sitka, Alaska, on June 21, 1953. The oldest in the family, she became the rock for the rest of the siblings, a second mother to many. She graduated in 1971 from Unalakleet Covenant High School and graduated from UAA with a sociology degree in 1976. Karen met her future husband, Gary, through mutual friends and the two were wed in the Covenant Church on Aug. 27, 1977.

Karen worked at the Old Hospital (ANS), then motherhood took over and she raised two boys, receiving '96 and '97 ASD Volunteer of the Year awards. Karen retired from American Greetings in 2018. She also commercial fished with her husband on the Yukon River. Her homeport was Mountain Village, home of her dad and gram. She became known as the "Yukon Queen." She enjoyed making king salmon strips and "GaaMaa Luk."

Kiwi, as family and friends called her, enjoyed crafting and cooking. She helped with fundraisers in Unalakleet, where she and Gary would go each fall and meet up with classmates and friends. Karen was our Earth Angel; now she is our Guardian Angel, especially for the grandkids, Mark and Ari, who she loved dearly.

Karen is survived by her husband, Gary; son, Craig; sister, Diane; niece, Jessie; brothers, Herb and Mike; and niece, Jennie. She is preceded in death by her son, Mark; parents, Morris Lawrence and Eleanore; and brothers, Arnie and Bart. Karen is a donor.

Donations can be sent to First Covenant Church, 1145 C Street, Anchorage, AK 99501.