Karen Hegsted Schettler, 87, of Salt Lake City, Utah passed away peacefully on August 15, 2026. Karen was born to Rulon Grover and Edmer Reynolds Hegsted on February 11,1939. She grew up on her family’s farm in Holladay, Utah where she graduated from Olympus High School in 1957. Karen also attended classes at the University of Utah.
Karen met her husband Paul while at an event with the Wasatch Mountain Club. They later married on her birthday, February 11, 1965, ensuring Paul would only have one date to remember. She then joined Paul in New Haven, Connecticut while he completed his doctorate work at Yale University. They spent one year together in Yellow Springs, Ohio before settling in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. There Karen dedicated her life to raising her children and supporting her husband in his career. Later in life, Karen loved being a grandmother and became a surrogate grandmother to many others.
Karen thrived in theater arts. She danced ballet through her teens and early twenties. In Huntingdon she participated in productions with the Carriage House Theatre Company, both onstage and backstage, including sewing many costumes. In addition to sewing, Karen enjoyed needlepoint, embroidery, and quilting. She was an avid reader, largely enjoying mysteries and biographies of remarkable women. Karen loved cooking and often catered events for family and friends. She often took road trips, being careful to avoid freeways and left-hand turns. Karen was a quietly generous person— the number of people whose lives she touched will never be known.
Karen had an abiding faith in God and was a lifetime member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Karen was predeceased by her parents Rulon and Edmer and by her older sister, Sydney Hegsted Skidmore. She is survived by her husband, Paul D. Schettler, her children, George F. Schettler and Rebecca S. Owens, and grandchildren Paul D. Owens and Sean C. D. Owens.
Family and friends will be received for visitation on Friday September 28, 2026, from 6-8 PM at Wasatch Lawn, 3401 S Highland Dr. Millcreek, Utah.
There will be a family viewing on Saturday August 29th, 2026, from 10AM to 11AM at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2795E Crestview Dr in Salt Lake City, Utah.
A funeral service will be held on Saturday August 29, 2026, at 11 AM at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2795 E Crestview Dr in Salt Lake City, Utah. Dedication of the grave will follow at Wasatch Lawn, 3401 S Highland Dr. Millcreek, Utah. A light meal will be served at Wasatch Lawn following the dedication.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Adopt-A-Native-Elder in Salt Lake City, Utah or to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah.
