Karleen M. Meyer

With great sadness, we share that Karleen Marie Meyer, 89, of Kennewick, Washington, passed away on October 21, 2025. She brought joy and laughter to those around her and will be remembered with love.

Karleen was born on July 17, 1936, and raised on an 80-acre farm in the Yakima Valley, where her father’s family had settled in the early 1900s. The farm was home to Hereford cattle and crops like rutabagas, sugar beets, alfalfa, and corn. She had a happy, adventure-filled childhood, roaming with her sisters through old root cellars, climbing apple trees, building playhouses out of apple boxes, and of course, making mud pies.

She helped her mother weed the garden and tend to housework, but one of her favorite chores was helping her father feed the cattle in winter. She would steer the tractor through the pasture while he tossed hay from the back. One of her biggest weekly adventures was the family trip to town for groceries. Each child was given a ten-cent budget for candy or comic books, but Karleen often made a beeline for the meat market to buy a hot dog instead.

A favorite family story recalls the time she teased her dad by wiggling a loose front tooth. When he stood up and said he was going to pull it, she ran and hid under the bed. He promptly grabbed her by her big toe, pulled her out, and, true to his word, pulled the tooth.

She spent most of her life in the Yakima Valley before eventually settling in Kennewick.

In 1963, she married Theodore Meyer. They had three sons and later divorced in 1982. She managed to keep three teenage boys fed and clothed by working for a season at a locally owned cold storage facility. She also worked alongside Lucille Cullen in the St. Joseph School kitchen, where she was known to bring home leftovers, and later at the Breckwood Restaurant, all in Sunnyside, Washington. After that, she ran and eventually owned a dental lab in Sunnyside, before later working at one in the Tri-Cities. If you live in either of those places and wear dentures, there is a good chance Karleen had a hand in your smile.

The words most often used to describe Karleen were “sassy,” “spunky,” and “short.” (“Short” was her own favorite.) She had a deep love for classic country music, especially Patsy Cline, Willie Nelson, Hank Williams, and other legends from that era. Karleen also had a great love of travel, enjoying trips to Germany, Las Vegas, and an Alaskan cruise, as well as many visits to Disney World with her family. Watching her great-grandchildren play and gathering with family for card games brought her endless joy. She was also an avid fan of the Seahawks and the Mariners, loved westerns and Tetris, and enjoyed mushroom hunting and spending time at the family cabin with her sisters.

Karleen is survived by her sister, Donna O'Connor; her sons Mark Meyer and his wife Dawn, Scott Meyer and his wife Missy, and Kelly Meyer; her granddaughter Chelsea Meyer; and her great-grandchildren, Ashlyn and Jameson. All of them miss her terribly.

A memorial service will be held at Anchor Point Christian Fellowship, 609 W. Bonnieview Rd., Grandview, on Tuesday, November 11, from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.  Those wishing to sign Karleen’s online memorial book may do so at www.funeralhomesmith.com    Smith Funeral Home is in care of arrangements.

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