Karen LuAnn Holmes Droesbeke passed away from this life on December 30, 2025, at the McKay Dee hospital in Ogden, Utah with her family close by her side.
Karen was born on June 14, 1940, in Ogden, Utah to Amasa Stetson Holmes and LaRene Woodland Holmes. She had two sisters and two brothers, Marama, Shanna, Keith, and Bruce. Karen’s family moved to Salt Lake while she was young and owned the Woodland Drive-In Theater. This is where Karen had one of her first jobs, working in the snack bar, and where she became accustomed to having her own money and becoming quite independent.
Karen was a somewhat of a “tom-boy” growing up. While in high school Karen and some of her friends formed community basketball and baseball teams. Her family moved back to Ogden where she attended and graduated from Ben Lomond High School in 1958. She had a part-time job working at Combe’s restaurant near the corner of 12th Street and Washington Boulevard. Her dad told her she should focus on school and if the job hurt her grades, she would have to quit. She didn’t get any bad grades. Later she managed Combe’s Blue Onion near the corner of 42nd Street and Harrison Boulevard.
During her high school years, Karen met Richard A. Droesbeke. Amidst opposition from both of their parents they decided to marry and eloped. They were married on July 7, 1958, in Elko, Nevada and were sealed for time and eternity in the Ogden Temple on August 30, 1984. Karen was an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, where she fulfilled many callings. Karen enjoyed being an active member of the local chapter of the Daughters of Utah Pioneers. She served a mission with her husband at the Paris Tabernacle as tour guides.
Karen attended Weber College and started working part-time for General Mills. She later worked full-time for General Mills as a Grain Merchandiser, primarily responsible for buying and selling grain and other commodities in Utah and Idaho. As Karen progressed with General Mills, she became the first female vice-president and president of the Utah-Idaho Grain Exchange.
During this time, Karen and Richard had three children, Cheri, Linda, and Richard (Richie). In their early years, they lived in North Ogden, Utah, close to Karen’s parents. They moved to Bountiful for nearly a year and a half and then moved back to North Ogden to a house a couple of blocks north of North Ogden Junior High School. This is where they raised their children. Karen and Richard would visit and vacation at Bear Lake quite often with some of Richard’s work associates. They liked the area so much that in 1968 Karen and Richard purchased a piece of lake shore property on the south end of Bear Lake. Over time, they built a vacation home on the piece of land.
Karen and Richard moved from their North Ogden home to Pocatello, Idaho in 1985 when General Mills closed down their Ogden flour mill. Along with her grain merchandising expertise, she managed the grain elevators in Pocatello and Schiller. In 1995, Karen retired from General Mills and they decided to make their Bear Lake vacation home their full-time residence. For their first few years in Bear Lake, they would travel to Yuma, Arizona for the worst of the winter months at Bear Lake.
In 2010, Karen was diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer. She underwent surgery, radiation treatment, and chemotherapy. She survived the long, painful process and took joy with each doctor’s appointment that reported that the cancer was in remission. She enjoyed visits from her children, grandchildren, and even the great-grandchildren. She always welcomed them into her home. Two grandsons spent summers working in the area and living with Karen and Richard. A third grandson lived with them during his high school years attending high school in Rich County.
Karen is survived by her husband, Richard; and their children, Cheri (Mark) Hutchinson, Linda (Del) Earley, and Richard N. (Amber) Droesbeke; her sister, Shanna (DeLynn) Caldwell; and grandchildren, Jessykah Bird, Jared (Jessica Forrest) Droesbeke, Alex (Kamree) Bird, TJ (Nikalle) Earley, Derek (Tracy Allen) Droesbeke, Brooke Droesbeke (Tom Platero), and Caleb Droesbeke, Audrey (Justin) Page, Larkin Snow, Charles Dalton Snow, Brandon Snow; 13 great-grandchildren and many nieces and nephews. Karen was preceded in death by her parents, sister and brother-in-law Marama and Courtley Hansen, brother-in-law DeLynn Caldwell, brothers Keith (Miriam) Holmes and Bruce Holmes, and son-in-law, Del Earley.
There will be a viewing with family and friends to be held on Thursday, January 8, 2026, from 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm; and on Friday, January 9, 2026, from 10:00 am until 11:45 am at the LDS church located at 115 South 100 East, Laketown, Utah.
Karen’s funeral service will be held at noon on Friday, January 9, 2026, at the LDS church located at 115 South 100 East, Laketown, Utah. Interment will be in the Laketown Cemetery, immediately following the funeral service.
To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Karen LuAnn (Holmes) Droesbeke, please visit our floral store.
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