Karen Diane Swinehart Young, 84, passed away on August 11, 2026, in Houston, Texas. She was born on November 4, 1941, in Bell, California to Marvin and Iris Swinehart. Karen is survived by her husband of 63 years Richard Young; daughters, Elizabeth (Liz) Young-Krueger (John) and Jennifer Young; sister Pam Swinehart Martin (Joe); grandchildren, Katherine Diane Krueger and Jackson Krueger, brothers-in-law Mickey Brower and Joe Young (Jane); and much-loved nieces and nephews, cousins and other family members.  She was also fortunate to have friends in all corners of the world. She was predeceased by her parents and her sister, Judy Swinehart Brower.

After World War 2, she and her parents returned to their home state of Oklahoma.  She spent the majority of her childhood, in Clinton and Hydro, Oklahoma. Karen later wrote that ‘during the first of elementary school I resembled a cross between Pocahontas and Roy Rogers. Long dark braids and red cowboy boots.”   She would go on to graduate from Clinton High School in 1959 without the braids or the boots but kept her Native American heritage as a proud member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation.

In 1963, she earned a Bachelor of Science from the University of Oklahoma, and she married her college sweetheart, Richard. They promptly moved to San Pedro, CA where she started working as Medical Technologist while Richard was serving in the Army.  In 1965, they moved to Tucson, Arizona where she also worked as Med Tech as Richard worked on his Master.   In 1966, she and Richard moved back to Oklahoma to Bartlesville, where they welcomed their two daughters Liz and Jenny.

While in Bartlesville, Karen became a published author, active in Women’s Mission Union (WMU) which was part of the Oklahoma Baptist General Convention and an entrepreneur.  She was an accomplished writer and bible scholar who used her skills to write Bible studies for WMU.   Her writings were used across the US by WMU groups.  Additionally, she was always the person who organized and ran the Vacation Bible schools at the churches she attended.   As an entrepreneur, she opened a diner called the Shelter that fed high school students which tapped into her love for cooking and experience working at a diner when she was younger.

When Richard was transferred to Spain in the early 80’s, she and the girls joined him for a year in the Spanish sunshine.  She quickly learned how to adapt to the Spanish culture with the mantra of ‘you can get anything you want in Madrid if you are willing to make a fool of yourself’. After a successful time in Spain, the family returned to Bartlesville until 1988 when Richard and Karen moved to the Clear Lake area in Houston.

Then in 1996, Richard would once again be transferred and they found their way to a new location, JinShan Wei, China.  This proved to be a very challenging adventure, but she managed by finding ways to experience and learn about the culture of China. One way was to teach conversational English in a local elementary school. She even ended up at the request of her students being inducted into the Young Pioneers, the Communist Youth Organization. Further, she helped bring some of the China teachers over to the US to visit local schools in Weatherford, Oklahoma where her sister, Pam was a teacher.

When Richard retired in 1999, they moved to Almont, Colorado where they transformed someone else’s dream home into their own dream home. Their family would spend every holiday skiing or river rafting, all while enjoying Karen’s amazing cooking.

If that wasn’t enough she and Richard would spend their free time traveling around the world by plane, train, ship, RV and car.  In fact, she made it around the world twice and to over 100 countries, all seven continents and all 50 states.   She and Richard would also travel with their daughters and grandkids including an RV trip to see Mount Rushmore with Jackson and a graduation cruise to Hawaii with Katherine.

Karen had a passion for helping people around the world and was active in donating money and volunteering for causes that she believed were important.  She was a modern Proverb 31 woman in all aspects of the verse.  “Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain but a woman who fears the Lord, shall be praised.” Proverbs 31:30. She not only cared for her family and ran a business but also tried to make this world a better place for people around the globe.

A Celebration Life Service will be held on Saturday, August 22^nd at 1:00 pm at University Baptist Church, 16106 Middlebrook Dr. Houston, Texas 77059.

In lieu of flowers those wishing to make a memorial donation in her name should please consider St. Joseph’s Indian School, Heifer International, the Houston Food Bank or Doctors without Borders.