Karen Ann Mahaffey was a beloved wife, mother, daughter, grandmother, and friend. She returned home to her Heavenly Father on August 4, 2026, surrounded by those she loved.

Karen was born on August 15, 1975 to Waldo Wayne Johns and Sharon Kay (Sheldahl) Johns in Northridge, California. She moved to Yelm, Washington early in her youth before ending up in Olympia, Washington for her high school years. She graduated from North Thurston High School in 1993. Karen loved music and participating in school plays.

Karen attended BYU and graduated in 1996 with a degree in Family and Consumer Sciences. While attending BYU she met the love of her life, Dustin Troy Mahaffey. She noticed him each day in their human biology class. Dustin sat in the front of the classroom and Karen always sat in the back. Luckily, they got paired for a group project and the rest is history. They were sealed for time and all eternity in the Portland Oregon Temple on August 1, 1996. Their life grew sweeter each year. They excitedly welcomed their first child in 1998 and resided in Provo, Utah until they graduated from college. Shortly thereafter, they moved to Washington to welcome and raise their 4 cherished children. After living in Washington for 25 years, Karen and Dustin moved to Rexburg, Idaho while their youngest finished high school. Dustin and Karen returned to Washington after becoming empty nesters. Karen’s husband and children were her whole world.

Karen loved designing and used Dustin’s contracting knowledge to design and build many beautiful homes. Dustin and Karen enjoyed moving every few years into the homes that they built together. Karen loved hiking, traveling, and exploring God’s beautiful creations with Dustin and her family.

Karen lived a life defined by faith, service, and love. She loved Jesus Christ with all her heart, and that faith shaped every part of who she was. She spent her life serving others without expecting recognition, putting the needs of her family before her own, and fiercely loving and protecting her loved ones. Those are gifts that can never be measured.

Karen and Dustin shared 30 wonderful years of marriage in this life. Through every joy and every hardship, they remained devoted to one another. Their marriage is a testament to commitment, sacrifice, and enduring love.

Karen quietly fought a relentless neurological illness that slowly took so much from her the last 4 years of her life. Despite countless appointments, tests, and specialists, no doctor was ever able to provide a diagnosis or explain exactly what was happening. She endured that trial with such grace.

Her kindness, her faith, her strength, and the values she instilled in her family will continue to live on through them. Karen eagerly anticipated being a grandmother and she so deeply loved each of her grandchildren. Her grandchildren may not all remember every moment they could have shared with her, but they will know who she was through the lives she shaped and the example she set.

Karen is survived by her beloved husband, Dustin, her children: Kyle (Mick), Madison (Jared), Austin, and Spencer, and her mother, Sharon Johns. She was preceded in death by her father, Waldo Wayne Johns. While our hearts are broken, we are grateful that she is whole and at peace.