Karen Marie Smith

Karen was born on November 21, 1945 in Pierre, South Dakota to George and Gladys Carroll. Karen passed away peacefully on Saturday, April 30th, 2016 in Tacoma, WA at the age of 70. She is preceded in death by her father George Carroll (Poulsbo). She is survived by her husband Richard Smith (Kingston), mother Gladys Carroll (Poulsbo), her two daughters, Shannon Miller (Kingston) and Jolene O'Connell (Puyallup), son-n-law Neal O'Connell (Puyallup), four grandchildren- Kaitlynn, Wyatt, Brian, and Aiden, and her two great grandchildren- Kolstyn and Brianna. Karen Graduated from Riggs High School in 1963. After graduation, she attended nursing school at Brookings College for two years. Karen married Richard Smith on May 28th, 1966 and made their home in Seattle, WA where Karen worked in nursing homes until obtaining a full time job as a tumor registrar for Group Health Hospital. Later, she worked for Riverton Hospital in Seattle, WA in the Medical Records Department. While working for Riverton Hospital, she completed a medical records degree through correspondence. In 1978 Karen and Richard moved to East Wenatchee, WA where she worked part time in the medical records department for Wenatchee Hospital. In 1985 they moved to Kingston, WA where Karen worked for several years as a part time Bookkeeper for the Kingston Tax Service. In 2005 she started working as a Bookkeeper for the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe/TGA. Karen enjoyed gambling, playing slot machines and cards. She especially liked playing and teaching others how to play Pai Gow Poker. Her love for casino games inspired her to publish her own book in 1996 called Alternatives to Playing the Slots, a Beginners Guide to Casino Fun. She also enjoyed spending time with her family and friends. In lieu of flowers and memorial services, family requests that donations be sent to Franciscan Foundation, P.O. Box 1502, Tacoma, WA 98401-3740, Phone number 253-428-8411