Karen Ruth Woodward Akre was born April 20th, 1966, in Columbus, Georgia, and grew up in Lynnwood, Washington. She married Jeff Akre on July 27, 1985, and together raised their four children. Karen passed away peacefully on March 8th, 2023. She is preceded in death by her mother, Glenda. Karen is survived by her loving husband, Jeff, her four children/spouses, Johnathan(Patrice), Bryan(Shelby), Ashley(Josh) and Leah, her eight grandchildren - Christopher, Titus, Hailee, Isaiah, Braeden, Julianna, Lucas, Declan, and Kalani. She is also survived by her parents, Ernest and Janet, and six siblings - Sonya, Ed, Melissa, Ben, Rebecca, and David.

Karen loved to laugh! Time with family and friends was the most important thing to her, and she made every holiday event as big as possible. She was a nurse, avid learner, devoted wife and mother, indulgent grandmother, and lifelong friend to many. She was tenacious and never gave up on anything worth fighting for. Her strong faith in God will have a lasting impact on everyone who knew her; she exuded positivity and had a ready smile.

Karen fought a long hard battle with CVID and interstitial lung disease for about 10 years. Even in her battle, she always smiled. She made it to the transplant list about 6 months ago and kept high hopes even on her hardest days. After all the work to get on the transplant list we are sad to say she didn’t receive her gift of new lungs but was able to donate the incredible gift of her kidneys and corneas.

Karen was a huge supporter of IDF. We are asking in lieu of flowers and cards donations are made in her honor.

In loving thanks ,
Her family