Karen Joy Stelling

Karen Joy Sumpter, age 75, passed away Sunday, June 21, 2020 after she lost her battle with cancer. A graveside service will be held at 11 a.m., Saturday, September 19th at Riverside Cemetery, Payette, Idaho. Karen was born on March 2, 1945 in Tacoma, Washington to Elva Ray Sumpter and Darlene Florence Sumpter. They later moved to Payette, Idaho. She spent a lot of time in Elk City, Idaho with the York family hunting, gathering huckleberries, and enjoying the mountains. Elk City is where she met and later married William A. Cooper on July 1961 in Payette, Idaho. She and Bill then moved to Elk City, Idaho. Where they started their family. They had three children togetherSheri, Billy, and Doug. Later the family relocated to Emmett, Idaho where she started working with Boise Cascade, a local sawmill. Bill and Karen divorced in 1975. Following the divorce, she moved to St. Helens, Oregon and started her career at the Boise Cascade Paper Mill, retiring from the paper mill in 1999. She travelled to several other countries after retirement and then decided to get a job with Raytheon Intelligence in the Antarctica where she spent two seasons. She especially enjoyed spending time in New Zealand on her way home. In 2003, she again retired and moved to Lewiston, Idaho to be closer to her children and grandchildren. She spent the next 13 years in Lewiston, Idaho where she enjoyed volunteer work in the community and taking care of her flowers. In 2016, she then moved to Boise, Idaho, where she was able to enjoy visiting with her three great grandsons and her new born great granddaughter. She is survived by her sisters, Bev Shuster of Caldwell, Idaho, Dolly Benson of Romance, Arkansas, and Pat Harvey of Payette, Idaho; one brother, Jerry and (Lori) Sumpter of West Linn, Oregon; three children, Sheri (Ralph) Hartshorn of Cascade, Bill (Cheryl) Cooper of Elk City, and Doug (Kim) Cooper of Boise. She will be missed by her 9 grandchildren that she loved so much, Tony (Caitlin) Hartshorn, Christy (Shane) Wilczewski, Josh (Ting) Hartshorn, Amanda (Jake) Sharon, and Austin Cooper; and 4 great grandchildren. Karen is preceded in death by her loving parents, Ray and Darlene Sumpter, two nieces, Susan Sumpter and Brenda Kaylor; and nephew, Jerry Sumpter, Jr. In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to Mountain States Tumor Institute (MSTI) Boise, ID.