Kari Lynn (Hansen) Smith

Gone too soon, our sweet Kari passed away unexpectedly on July 23, 2018.

She was one of the good ones. A heart big enough for everyone, she was constantly looking for ways to make sure everyone around her knew just how much they were loved. She was contagious in her laugh, in her smile, in her way to love. Everyone wanted to be just like her. She was strong-willed, protective and mischievous all rolled into one. She had a fire within her that burned brighter and bigger than anyone could ever have been prepared for. She was unexpected and charming and wildly imaginative. Simply put, she was an angel among us.

She always lived her life in fast-forward. She met and fell in love at a young age. While one beautiful love story, when it came to Kari, nothing was shy of abnormal. At 14 years old, she was met as the target of a marshmallow launcher by her one and only, Reed, and the rest was history. They fell in love quickly and hard. You could never imagine one without the other. They moved their life to Oregon and in typical Kari-fashion, she quickly became pregnant with their first, only to have four more, completing their family in the span of seven years. It was just like her to have crazy plans to get married quickly and have kids quickly, we just weren’t ready to lose her so quickly too.

She filled the voids in the lives of those who knew her. You never felt alone if you knew Kari. She was a force to be reckoned with, mighty in all she did. And she loved her family very, very much. They were her everything and she dedicated her life to prove that. She was the best listening ear and her go-to saying was “go fight win” it was the epitome of all she was.

We miss her so much. She will be remembered as the endearing, compassionate, magnetic, warm, brave, spontaneous, and selfless person that she was. She would want us to remember her through song, she’d tell her “Children, don’t stop dancing.” she would tell her husband to have a little “Patience” and she would ask “Who cares if one more light goes out?” and we would respond. “Well, I do.”

We know she’s here with us. We feel her everywhere. And just as songs were one of her many ways of communicating, we know dad’s song to her goes a little something like this:

If you get there before I do, don't give up on me

I'll meet you when my chores are through

I don't know how long I'll be

But I'm not gonna let you down, darling wait and see

And between now and then, 'til I see you again

I'll be loving you

Love, me

She is survived by many. Starting with her Mother, Carolynn; her siblings, Tyara, Sherae, Travis, Lance, Don, Ron, Scott, Beau; Her husband and the ultimate love of her life, Reed; her children, Trevyn (Erica) Daryk (Jo) Danyelle (Mitch) Mytchell, and Mckenzy; and her grandchildren, Ryan, Reggi, Rozz, Rocki, Kru, Bostyn, Lawson, and Ozzy. She was preceded in death by her father, Ron Ross; her stepfather, Leslie Hansen, stepmother, Ann Ross and her sister Soncerae

Funeral services will be held Monday, July 30, 2018 at 11 a.m. in the Kolob Stake Center at 1230 South 500 East in Springville. There will be a viewing held Sunday evening from 6 to 8 p.m. at Wheeler Mortuary, 211 East 200 South in Springville and at the Stake Center on Monday from 9:30 to 10:30 prior to the services. Condolences may be sent at www.wheelermortuaries.com