Karen March

In Loving Memory of Karen Colbert March

April 6, 1938 – September 26, 2025

A Life of Creativity, Courage, and Grace

Early Life and Family Roots

Karen Colbert March was born on April 6, 1938, in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Raymond George Colbert and LaVern Marie Burt-Colbert. The eldest of thirteen children, Karen was the first light in a large and lively household.

She often shared fond memories of growing up on Indiana Avenue, right next to Poplar Grove Park, where her parents purchased a small duplex—renting out one side to make ends meet. She remembered being sent to the corner store at age three to buy bread or milk, a simple errand that marked her independence. Life in the late 1930s and early 1940s was modest, but it was rich in family, and childhood imagination. The family later moved to 700 East 2800 South where her dad opened up Nibley Park Press, right next to the Nibley Park golf course.

Motherhood and Resilience

Karen married Melvin Theodore Housel at just 18 years old. The marriage began with hope but became marked by hardship and abuse. After the birth of her fourth child, she made the courageous decision to end the marriage and raise her children on her own—a remarkable act of strength for a young woman in the 1950s. With the help of her parents and her church community, she was able to make ends meet.

About a year later, she met and married Rex Kimball Bunnell. They welcomed two more children, completing the family of six she cherished all her life. Although that marriage also ended painfully, from unfaithfulness on Rex’s part, Karen continued to raise and support her family by using her artistic skills as an interior designer.

She raised her family across Utah—in Sugar House, Fruitland, Mt. Pleasant, Orem, and Salt Lake City.

Her final marriage to Bill March started in Sandy, Utah, they relocated to Apple Valley, California, Las Vegas, and later to Dana Point, where she would rediscover her true self as an artist and adventurer.

A Life in Art

Karen’s artistic journey began almost as soon as she could hold a crayon—her first “gallery” being her mother’s walls. Encouraged by her high-school art teacher, Ed Nelson, she developed a love for drawing and watercolor that never faded.

After graduating from Granite High School, Karen was hired by Richard Q. Bailey & Company, a respected Salt Lake City art firm, where she created illustrations for department stores and furniture catalogs. Her precision in architectural renderings led to a 27-year career as a professional interior designer and membership in the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID).

Yet her heart remained in painting. In 1991, at age 53, she took what she called her “Great Adventure.” She packed her paints and courage, moved to Dana Point, California, and set out to prove that you could make a living as an artist. Traveling the western states in her motorhome, she sold her watercolors at art shows and festivals, making friends wherever she went. Her work was later exhibited at Laguna Beach’s Art-A-Fair, The Festival of Arts, and the Sears Dixie Invitational.

When she moved to St. George, Utah, in 2008, she found endless inspiration in the red cliffs and desert light. She became an active member—and later President—of the Dixie Watercolor Society, teaching classes and workshops to local artists and students who adored her gentle wisdom.

Her artist statement reflected her joy in creation:

“The exciting and awesome effects only achieved with watercolors keep me totally in love with them. I am constantly challenged to capture the beauty I see—to save it and share it.”

Family Legacy

Karen’s greatest masterpieces, however, were her children and grandchildren. She is survived by five of her six children—A’Lisa Marie Housel-Muir (Bill), Dawna Renae Housel-Marett (Roger), Joan Leslie Housel-Ottley, Jenifer Pearl Bunnell-Kimick (Kevin), and Daniel Rex Bunnell (Wendy)—and joins her daughter Connie Jean Housel-Bacon Keith, who passed in 2024.

She also reunites in heaven with two beloved grandchildren, Kyle David Keith and Jesse George Marett. Her surviving grandchildren—Becky, Scott, and Heather Muir; Dustin, Tai Lee, Candice, and Lenny Marett; James Bacon, Jeff Keith, Jack Ottley; Nick, Kelsey, Leah, and Luke Bunnell; Jordyn Carlin, and Jay and Julia Kimick.

Every home she lived in was designed with beauty, style and color, and in her professional and personal life she shared encouragement for others and faith that God guides and walks with us daily in our journey.

Later Years and Eternal Rest

In her final years in St. George, Karen continued painting and teaching, delighting in the beauty of southern Utah and the friendships she found there. Her life was a canvas of faith, perseverance, humor, and love.

A graveside service will be held Thursday, October 24, 2025, at 1:00 p.m. at Elysian Burial Gardens, 1075 E 4580 S, Millcreek, Utah 84117.

Karen’s family invites all who knew her to remember her through the beauty she left behind—in her art, her stories, and the lives she touched.

“To Capture the Beauty I See”

Karen once wrote:

“Watercolor is alive—it surprises you, it moves where it wishes, and it teaches you to let go and trust the flow. I suppose that’s what life has taught me, too.”

Her life was just that: a flowing, luminous watercolor—imperfect, unpredictable, with beauty to share with those around her.