Karen (Houghton) Emel, 84 of Newport, Wash. went peacefully to her heavenly home on August 24 in Watertown surrounded by her loving family. A celebration of life will be held on Saturday, October 4, 2025 at Furness Funeral Home in Clark at 1:00 P.M. Interment will immediately follow the service at Collins Cemetery in Willow Lake.
Karen was born to Charles and Mata (Gehrke) Houghton (the 11th of 14 children) in Willow Lake, S.D. on May 3, 1941. She was baptized and confirmed at the Willow Lake Evangelical Lutheran Church. She grew up on a farm west of Willow Lake and attended a one-room country school through the eighth grade graduating from Willow Lake High School in 1959. She attended college at Black Hills State College in Spearfish and taught in country schools for two years. She then moved to Minneapolis, Minn., where she worked for Lutheran Brotherhood Insurance Co.
Karen later moved to Martha Lake, Wash. where she met her future husband, Phil Emel. She and Phil were married on March 15, 1968. She became the loving step-mother to four children: Wayde, 10; Mark, 9; Tina, 8; and Terri, 7.
Karen and Phil purchased land near Newport, Wash. in the early 70s where they lived for their entire married life. Karen had a variety of occupations. She was always the first one to be a caretaker, to friends and relatives alike, all over the country. She cared for many children as well. In the last several years., she was a 'right hand man' on the Bud and Elsie Houghton farm near Willow Lake.
Karen was preceded in death by her husband, Phil; parents Mata and Charles; stepson Mark; six brothers: Bud, Clifford, Bob, Bill, Ed and Ron Houghton; three sisters: Doris Larson, Virene Stromsness and Adele Reed; brothers-in-law: Ivan Larson, John Stromsness, Bernie Hamilton and Charles Killingsworth; sisters-in-law: Elsie and Lola; and several nieces and nephews.
Living to cherish her memory are her children, Wayde (Terrilynn) Emel, of Moses Lake, Wash., Tina (Mike) Wright, of Everett, Wash. and Terri (Glenn) Magnuson of Marysville, Wash. and her daughter-in-law Anne, all of Washington. She is also survived by 10 grandkids, 10 great-grandkids, four sisters, Donna Hamilton of Eden Prairie, Minn., Jan Killingsworth, of Roseville, Calif., Linda Fleeger (Don) of Webster and Carole (Doug) Kettwig of Watertown, sisters-in-law Karen Ann Houghton of Eden Prairie, Minn., JoAnn Houghton of Ashland, Ore., brother-in-law Gordon Reed of Alta Loma, Calif. and many nieces and nephews, as well as the many close friends who loved her like family.
