Karna Marie Webster

Webster, Karna Marie Oct 15, 1927 to Sept 13, 2019. Karna Marie Webster (née Cichowski) was born on October 15, 1927 in La Crosse, Wisconsin to William Valic Cichowski and Karen Ursula Fabritius Essendrop Bentzen. She grew up in La Crosse, attending the Training School of the La Crosse State Teacher’s College and Central High School. She had to grow up early, learning to drive at 14, as her father was a blind WWI veteran. Karna was in the school band, played piano and bugle and did synchronized swimming. As a teenager, she built air conditioners for tanks during WWII. Karna was a Girl Scout, and played bugle at Camp Decorah when WWII ended. With her mother and brother she visited her great grandparents, stadsfysikus Dr. Gotfred Bentzen and Martha Marie Bentzen in Olso Norway, and maintained a life long connection to her Norwegian roots. She graduated in pharmacy from the University of Wisconsin in 1949, first in her class and a Rennebohm Scholar, becoming a registered pharmacist. She later obtained a MA in history in 1984, specializing in architectural history, with a thesis titled Architects William, Charles and Edward Quayle and their Buildings. Karna married her college sweetheart, Thomas C. Webster Jr. on July 2, 1949. The family moved to La Mesa, California in 1956 where she became very active in community groups. She was chair of the San Diego Health Careers Conference for several years and served on the vestry of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church of La Mesa. She was president of the PTA of the Lemon Avenue Elementary School and was also involved with Spring Valley Junior High School and Monte Vista High School, helping with construction of the school’s pool. She was leader of Girl Scout Troops 757 and 1206, and served as president of the San Diego County Council of the Girl Scouts. Along with her husband, she led Girl and Boy Scout canoe trips on the Colorado River. Karna was a leader in historical preservation societies in Spring Valley, La Mesa, El Cajon, as well as the San Diego Congress of History and the Westerners. In Spring Valley she worked to achieve National Historic Landmark status for the Bancroft Ranch House, an old adobe house once owned by western historian Hubert Howe Bancroft. She wrote two local history books: Chula Vista Heritage 1911-1986 and The Hidden Heart of Spring Valley: A History of Spring Valley, California and the Bancroft Ranch House (unpublished), and co-authored a third: La Mesa Through the Years. She was named Spring Valley Woman of the Year in 1972. Genealogy became one of Karna’s passions and she was editor of the Leaves and Saplings quarterly of the San Diego Genealogical Society. Karna was pre-deceased by her husband of 62 years, Thomas C. Webster Jr. M.D. (2011) and her great granddaughter, Eleanor Riley Mueller (2019). She is survived by her brother William G. Cichowski of Rochester Hills, MI, son Thomas F. Webster of Boston, MA, two daughters Carole M. Webster Gase of Castle Rock, CO and Sandra K. Webster Mueller of Round Hill, VA, six grandchildren, William F. Poff-Webster of New Haven CT, Charles A. Poff-Webster of Worcester, MA, Melissa M. Gase Shields of Stapleton, CO, Alison M. Mueller Amann of Arlington, VA, Bret T. Mueller of Falls Church, VA, Ryan J. Mueller of Reston, VA, and two great grandchildren, Thomas M. Amann and Abigail E. Amann. Karna passed away in Leesburg, VA after a long illness. The family wishes to thank the caring staff and friends at Heritage Hall of Leesburg who helped her through her last days. Karna will be buried next to her husband at Miramar National Cemetery in San Diego. In lieu of flowers, donations in her name may be directed to the Spring Valley Historical Society, 9050 Memory Lane, Spring Valley, CA 91977; tel: (619)469-1480.