Karen Wetta Obituary

Karen Kay (Schoonover) Wetta died on June 29th, 2018 at the age of 60 in her home in Lawrence, Kansas. She was born on December 7th, 1957 in Topeka, Kansas.

She is survived by her three children and their partners: Molly Wetta and Nathan Burns-Sprung; Madeline Wetta and Nathan Printz; Marshall and Whitney Wetta, and grandson Maxwell Maurice Wetta. She is reunited with her husband Maurice Wetta, who died August 14th, 1998.

In her short 60 years, Karen lived a life full of love and joy. Raised in Southeast Kansas, she spent her formative years near Corpus Christi, Texas and Austin, Texas where she developed an abiding love for music. In her 20s, she relocated to Fort Scott, Kansas to live with her grandmother, Louise. It was in Fort Scott that she met Maurice. Eventually, the two settled in Silver Lake, Kansas with their three children. They owned and operated Gambino's Pizza in Silver Lake and St. Mary's for several happy years.

Karen spent her final years in Lawrence, Kansas, where she thoroughly enjoyed immersing herself in the local culture. She was a dear friend to many, and she will be remembered always for her kindness, her sense of humor, and her generosity. A devotee of America's Test Kitchen and Jacques Pépin, her cooking was legendary and she never let anyone go hungry.

A Memorial Mass will be held on Friday, July 6, at 10 am at St. Stanislaus Church in Rossville, Kansas. A private interment will be held at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to MD Anderson Cancer Center, https://gifts.mdanderson.org/ or Kansas Public Radio, http://kansaspublicradio.org/info/support.