Karen Mohney Recognized for Lifetime of Service

WAITSBURG – A horse with an empty saddle will walk in Saturday's Waitsburg Celebration Days parade in honor of Karen (Huwe) Mohney, who has been selected as parade co-marshal, posthumously. Mohney, a lifelong, active member of the community, passed away unexpectedly on March 15 at age 53, following a dog handler's event in Heppner, Ore.

Mohney was born to Waitsburg residents Pete and Meredith (Hulce) Huwe on September 5, 1961 and attended school in Waitsburg, graduating with the Class of '80. In high school, Mohney was involved in FFA, 4-H, Rainbow, and cheerleading, to name a few activities. "What wasn't she involved in? Cheerleading was her main thing. She did that from sixth grade through her senior year," said mom, Meredith.

Following graduation, Mohney attended one year at WSU before heading to California, where she completed airline school. She spent 15 years working as a ticket agent for Horizon Air in both the Pasco and Walla Walla airports and eventually returned to Waitsburg to help her mother with the family's EZ Way Aerial Marker business, following her father's death. "We did that together for 13 years until GPS basically put us out of business," said Meredith.

In 2010 Mohney purchased Blue Crystal Screen Printing, which she operated until her death.

Karen married Kelly Mohney, a Waitsburg native and Class of '74 WHS graduate, on April 26, 1986. Kelly couldn't nail down exactly when they "got together" but said it wasn't in high school. "She would have been a little kid then!" he said, laughing. He recalls that they got to know one another better when she worked a summer at Green Giant where he was a supervisor and she taught him to use the retort machine.

Mohney was incredibly active in the Waitsburg community. "She didn't know how to say 'no,'" Kelly said. She was a past Commercial Club Citizen of the Year and won the club's Community Service Award in 2010. She was a Town Hall Association board member for several years and served as president.

She was also part owner in Huwe Properties, LLC, which owns mini storage units. "She hated yard sales so she went to auctioneer school so we could have auctions, instead," said Meredith.

That evolved into her Classic Auctions business, but Mohney regularly volunteered her auctioneer skills at Dayton Chamber of Commerce, Town Hall and dog handler events as well as an annual fourth-grade Waitsburg Elementary School auction where the kids spent Monopoly money they earned from reading books.

"She just liked to do things. She liked to be involved and to be active. Her brain was always working and she had good ideas. You could say we should do something and she would figure out how to do it," said Meredith.

Mohney was a longtime member of the American Legion Auxiliary where she served as president. She helped raise funds for new front doors for Town Hall and was the instigator of the Veteran's Memorial Wall at the City Cemetery. Mohney designed the wall and brainstormed the "gold brick" fundraiser that helped bring in the $14,000 needed for the project.

"The year Karen was our president she came up with this great idea (of building a memorial wall) and gave our group the courage to do this. Her words were, 'Build it and they will come.' And come they did! In fact, our Auxiliary received state recognition for this outstanding project," said Auxiliary member B.A. Keve.

Mohney catered for the Commercial Club, the Alumni Association, the Days of Real Sport Coronation Ball, weddings and community events and she sang at weddings, funerals and Rainbow installations. "The first time I knew she could sing was when she sang at her high school graduation in 1980," Meredith said.

She was a Days of Real Sport board member where she served as vice president. She was also a Waitsburg Celebration Days Board member and was the main organizer of the ATV Poker Run event, which will be held in her honor this year.

Mohney also ran race horses from 1998-2003. "When Pete died he had a horse, Pallas, which he was going to put on the track. Karen said, 'Let's put her on and see what she can do.' That took us into our race horsing days," Meredith said. Pallas won the Pete Huwe Memorial Race. "We came home with the blanket we gave for the prize. I said if she doesn't ever do anything more, that's fine by me. But she did," Meredith said. She and Mohney ended up traveling with the horse to Montana and Idaho and added more horses along the way.

Mohney didn't have children of her own but had a special place in her heart for working with kids, especially young girls. She volunteered as chaperone for the Days of Real Sport royalty for 15 years. She led the Saddles & Spurs 4-H group for 15 years as well. "She grew up on a horse and taught a lot of girls to ride," said Meredith.

Rainbow Girls was one of her "big loves." She was Mother Advisor for many years and helped organize many service projects, floats and fundraisers. "We would feed all the girls dinner twice a month as well. Everywhere we went we fed girls. They were so busy with sports and didn't want to go home after so Karen said, 'If we feed you would you come?'" Meredith said.

"Karen has always been like a second mother to me ever since she became a Mother Advisor. She always brought out the best in people. Karen helped all of the Rainbow Girls see their potential and strive for greatness. She was more than a mentor, she was our best friend," said Rainbow Girl Jessie Hopkins.

Mohney's other big love was her border collies. Kelly said they have a sign in their home that reads, "One day I hope to be the person my dog thinks I am." Mohney adored her collies: Ajax, Grit, Maverick, Indy and Poppy. She belonged to the Oregon Sheep Dog Society where she was a past secretary and the Border Collie Dog Handler's Association. Mohney announced dog trials from Sun Valley, Ida. to the National Finals in Klamath Falls, Ore. In 2009 she received the Lacamas Valley Sheepdog Trial Evie Kimberly Humanitarian Award.

"I think Karen is the perfect choice for Parade Marshal," said longtime family friend Wendy (Davis) Richards. "As a young girl in the parade she road on horseback and on floats, as an adult she has assisted and encouraged many young people so that they too would get involved. Karen was active with the Days of Real Sport and has been a key leader with the Waitsburg Celebration Days, ensuring that Waitsburg's annual weekend continues to thrive. Although it'll be on ATVs rather than horseback, we will still come together as a community and celebrate Waitsburg. Karen loved this community and the people in it, made obvious by the countless hours she dedicated to giving back to Waitsburg."

How would Mohney have reacted to being named 2015 Waitsburg Celebration Days Parade Marshal? "She would have been happy," Kelly said.

"I think there would have been some tears. She would have been very, very proud," Meredith said.