Karen Rae Chengelis

Karen Rae Chengelis, 73, of Mesa Arizona, passed away December 18th, 2025. She was born on June 11th, 1952, in Ashton Idaho to Clinton and Darlene Leer, the second of five children. She had a rough start as a small baby and lost weight, until it was discovered she had Celiac. As a youngster she had a restrictive diet due to Celiac, but she thrived and became the tenacious Karen we all love and cherish. She grew up in Chubbuck and Pocatello, Idaho. Not long after graduating from Pocatello High School, she moved to Boise where her sisters Pam and Sheila lived. Later she moved to the Phoenix area with her sister Pam and started her career at Ramada Inn. Karen loved the warm weather in Phoenix and didn’t miss the cold Idaho weather at all, but when she got a promotion to manage the Ramada Inn call center for Canada, she moved to Toronto. She was in Canada about 4 years, when Ramada offered her the opportunity to apply for dual citizenship so she could stay longer. But she missed the states and the warmth of Phoenix, so she chose to move back home, where she met the love of her life, Gus Chengelis. Their first date was to a car show in Gus’s ’68 Camero. Their picture alongside the vintage Camero was in the Phoenix newspaper the next day. Exciting first date! They were married in 1992, on same date as their shared birthday, June 11th. They played together, worked hard together, and laughed and cried together. They had a very special and passionate relationship.

Karen and Gus were married for 33 years enjoying happy times traveling to places like Greece, Costa Rica, Canada, Mexico, Croatia, Aruba, Tahiti, Fiji, and multiple places in the United States. They took lots of cruises too. The multitude of pins on their travel map are impressive and a testament to their love of travel. Together, they built a beautiful second home on top of a hill near Prescott, where they loved spending weekends or weeklong getaways, friends often joining them. They also enjoyed cars, car shows, and car clubs. Karen loved to cook and entertain, so they opened their home, hosting many dinners and parties, gathering amazing friends. One of their favorite activities in recent years was going to Wasteland, where they would dress up and Karen could use her creative abilities cooking.

After marriage, Karen continued to work on her education and finished her BA in web design, while also working at a small company managing their website, phone systems, and marketing. Never one to be idle, later she passed her real estate exam, eventually becoming a broker so she could manage their properties.

A foodie, Karen loved to cook and drink red wine. When she talked about food and wine, it was a conversation to be savored. She had an eye for style and loved dressing up. Karen was artistic and creative. Graphic design and photography were some of her many talents, she often had her camera at hand. She loved antiquing and was an avid collector. She collected books, especially cookbooks, along with art, jewelry, dolls, Christmas decorations and other whimsical treasures. With her beautiful big brown eyes, genuine smile, contagious laugh, and bubbly personality, she collected truly special friends. Her collection of friends is her best collection of all. She will be deeply missed by her family and all who know her.

Karen loved Family, Friends, Food, Fun and wine, here’s to Karen, may she rest in peace.

Karen is preceded in death by, her father Clinton Leer, and brothers, David and Bill Leer. She survived by her husband Gus Chengelis, her mother Darlene Elliott, sisters, Sheila Leer, (husband David Schmidt) and Pam Meunier, (husband Bob Meunier), sister in-law, Shirley Leer, and nephews Markus, Levi, and Cody Leer.

Graveside service will be held at Mariposa Gardens Memorial Park on January 8th at 2:00 pm.