Karen Elaine Brantner

Karen Brantner, age 68 of Temple, passed away on Thursday, October 12, 2023.

Graveside services will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, November 3, 2023, at Restland Cemetery, with Pastor Deral McWhorter officiating.

Karen Elaine Brantner was born on January 19, 1955, to the late William Richard and Hazel McCarn Carlton in San Antonio, Texas.  She graduated from Gatesville High School in 1972 and from Tarleton State University in 1976.  Karen became a school teacher, spending the next thirty years as a dedicated educator, working for both Copperas Cove ISD and Temple ISD.  She taught both French and Spanish on a secondary level, and while in Temple, she sponsored the French Club and served on numerous committees.  Because of her love of French culture, her classroom was decorated with many pictures of France, including one of the Eiffel Tower.  Her enthusiasm for her students was amazing, and she often gave them an encouraging word and truly had a great rapport with them as well as faculty members and staff. 

As a friend, she was most supportive and fun to be with on any day.  She had a heart of gold and always managed to lift up her friends with her kind and cheerful personality.  She will be remembered as a very special lady who loved to make others laugh and feel important and comfortable.         

After her retirement in 2008, Karen became an enthusiast of Zumba and Refit.  She was a talented dancer and was dedicated to fitness as well as her friends at the Summit, a City of Temple Parks and Recreation program.  Through her hard work and her love for music, she danced many miles over the years, performing with the group at fundraising and charity events. 

She married Mackey Don Speer on April 9, 2009, and the two made their home in Temple.  She was truly crazy about Macky.  She and Macky spent 15 wonderful years together and often celebrated family events with her stepdaughters Margie and Britten and their children.  Karen was also an avid gardener and enjoyed cooking for others.       

Karen was an old-fashioned Southern girl in many ways.  She enjoyed calling her family and friends by both their first and middle names and was an avid Dallas Cowboys fan who spent a lot of time watching the games alongside her family.  She was baptized and was a member of the Temple Bible Church, where she worshipped the Lord and attended Bible studies.  This was an integral part of her life, as she was truly a person who lived by her faith, as shown by her kindness toward others.  

Karen was preceded in death by her parents.  She is survived by her husband, Mackey; daughters, Margie White and significant other, Kim Watkins, and Britten Will and husband, Chris; stepsons, James Brantner, and Chris Brantner; sister, Sherry Snyder; grandchildren, Brooklyn Tower, Miyah Kimball and Stormie Will; and a host of cousins, whom she kept close to her heart.   

We all meet people in our lifetime who become a big part of our hearts.  Karen was that person.  She would want us to celebrate her life as a celebration, so please pass along her love for others, her winning smile, her contagious laugh, and her kindness to others.    

In lieu of flowers, Karen’s family requests that memorials be made to the American Cancer Society, PO Box 6704, Hagerstown, MD, 21741.