Karen Ileen (Miller) Counts, 80, of The Woodlands, Texas, entered the arms of Jesus on February 28, 2024.

Karen was born on October 3, 1943, to Edward and Mary Miller in Cleveland, OH. In 1952 the family moved to Houston, Texas. There she attended Jesse H. Jones High School and graduated in 1962.

Karen and Justice met in 1957 and this was the beginning of a beautiful love story that continues after 60 years. They have two children, Michelle and Jay. Later, they were blessed with grandchildren and great-grandchildren which gave Karen immense joy.

Additionally, Karen enjoyed traveling, gardening, and attending athletic events of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Karen had a beautiful and gentle soul and was always the peacemaker giving good advice. She loved teaching children about Jesus which was her gift and ministry of love.

Her former principal at Bethany Lutheran School, Mr. Tom Wilt, had this to say at her Teacher of the Year banquet:

"For fifteen years a gentle but firm presence at the west end of our building; an arbiter of youthful disputes; a binder of wounds, whether the flesh or the spirit; a mentor to children and adults alike; often the conscience of the faculty; a reliable sounding board for her principal; a staunch foe of the unseemly, the unreasonable and the unfair; and an expert in dead-pan humor; Mrs. Counts has made her mark on Bethany Lutheran School.

Most importantly, she has long been the teacher who first tells our "littlest lambs" about Jesus and His love, who shows them their letters, teaches them their colors and numbers, and who first helps them to grow the roots of responsibility and the wings of independence.

Mrs. Counts has been, and we hope will continue to be, the teacher that students long gone from Bethany first ask about and whom they first visit when they return. We can think of no higher honor, and no one deserves it more."

This spirit continued at Living Word Lutheran Church until she retired after 30 years of teaching. Her love of the children, staff, and the parents, provided the energy required to devote her life to bringing Jesus to future generations until the Lord called her home.

We know when Karen met Jesus, He reached his hand and took hers with the words, "Welcome home, well done good and faithful servant."