Karen Joan Morton , 80, of Fort Wayne, died peacefully in the company of her family at 5:30 a.m. Wednesday, February 26, 2025, at her home.

Born on November 13, 1944, at Luckey Hospital in Wolf Lake, Indiana, she was the daughter of the late Glenola L. and Mary (Gallagher) Barnes.  Growing up on a farm in Union Twp., Whitley County, she completed Coesse School and attended Columbia City Joint High School.  She later earned a GED and completed business classes at Ivy Tech, Fort Wayne.

In addition to being a homemaker raising four children, she worked in the office of Fort Wayne Cardiology.  Pursuing her passion for owning and operating her own business, she started Dust Collectors – a residential cleaning service in Fort Wayne.  She grew the company with a cleaning staff of about twenty cleaning private homes throughout Fort Wayne, northeast Allen County, and the Auburn area.   She successfully ran the business for about 40 years.

Family was always her priority, and she often hosted family gatherings and always gathered the kids for the annual whimsical Christmas photo.  She was intrigued with Wolves, collecting pictures and likenesses of them and visiting their natural habitat of the Rocky Mountains, especially in the Cody, Wyoming area.  She had great respect and appreciation for the "Hotshots" wildland firefighters of the western states visiting Hotshots Memorial State Park in Arizona.

Surviving are her children, Dede (Ellis) Amburgey of Columbia City, Jody (Mandi) Pittenger of Fort Wayne, Timothy (Sheila) Pittenger of Columbia City and Lance (Kristi Mader) Pittenger of Fort Wayne; eight grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; and brothers, Larry Barnes of Columbus and Michael (Carol) Barnes of Fort Wayne.

Additionally, she was preceded in death by a sister-in-law, Connie Barnes.

A memorial gathering will be held at Smith & Sons Funeral Home, Columbia City, on Thursday, March 6, 2025, from 5 to 8 p.m. with a Memorial Service at 8 p.m.  Karen will be laid to rest with her family at the Oak Grove Cemetery at a later date.

Memorials in Karen's honor are to Riley Children's Hospital.