Remembering Karen Huntsman’s legacy of family and giving

Karen Huntsman, businesswoman, philanthropist and matriarch of one of Utah’s most influential families, has died at age 88.

Huntsman worked as vice president and director of Huntsman Corp., which included the once-largest privately held chemical company in the United States. She served as a director of First Security Corp., as a director of Intermountain Health Care and as a member of the Utah State Board of Regents.

She was the wife of the late Jon M. Huntsman Sr., billionaire, businessman, political organizer, philanthropist and former Area Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who died in 2018.

The Huntsmans are parents of nine children. Their son Jon Huntsman Jr. was the U.S. ambassador to Russia and was previously governor of Utah and ambassador to China. He ran for president of the United States as a Republican in 2012.

Huntsman was described as a practical woman who could not be stopped once she put her mind to something. Huntsman Jr. called her the “chief operating officer of the noise and the chaos” of their large family.

“It was important for my mother and my father to do something bigger than themselves,” said her son David Huntsman. “They always wanted to be engaged and involved in ways that contributed to the community.”

Jon and Karen Huntsman created a family foundation in 1988 that has grown to support cancer research, mental health treatment and research, public and higher education, and the under-served. Together the couple transformed cancer and mental health care at the University of Utah.

“We learned from our mother what strength, determination and integrity is. She was dauntless in her pursuits and passions while still supporting her husband and our family. Her legacy runs through our family and is passed on to all her beloved grandchildren and great-grandchildren,” said her daughters, Jennifer Huntsman Parkin and Christena Huntsman Durham, per a University of Utah press release.

The Huntsmans presided over the Washington D.C. Mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1980 to 1983.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Huntsman was born in San Diego, California, to David B. and Ruby Haight. David B. Haight would later become an apostle in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She attended the University of Utah where she was a member of Chi Omega sorority and active in student affairs. She left school during her junior year to marry Jon M. Huntsman Sr. in 1959. She received an honorary doctorate from the school in 2022.

Huntsman died Monday at home in Salt Lake City. She is survived by her children Jon Jr., Peter, Christena, David, Paul, James, Jennifer and Mark. Her daughter Kathleen died in 2010.

Cancer becomes personal

The work of treating cancer was personal to the Huntsman family as the disease took both of Huntsman Sr.’s parents. In 1995, the Huntsman family donated $100 million to create the Huntsman Cancer Institute.

“I was blessed to have had Karen Huntsman in my life for more than 25 years. Karen was a guide and an inspiration,” Dr. Mary Beckerle, member of the Huntsman Cancer Foundation Board of Directors, and CEO of Huntsman Cancer Institute from 2006-2025, said per the release.

“She lived a life of gratitude, humility and generosity — whether selecting and placing art on the walls of Huntsman Cancer Institute with her grandchildren, cheering on our caregivers and scientists, or navigating her own cancer diagnosis with unparalleled grace. She had an eye for beauty and a full heart. She will be deeply missed and never forgotten. Her spirit will always be present at Huntsman Cancer Institute, joining that of her husband, Jon, and continuing to light the way.”

Huntsman and her husband both also battled cancer themselves. After Huntsman Sr. died, she directed the work of the Huntsman Foundation amid her own fight with ovarian cancer.

Legacy of compassion and caring

“Karen Huntsman’s legacy will be felt for generations,” said Bob Carter, executive vice president for health sciences and CEO of University of Utah Health. “Together, Karen and Jon Huntsman transformed cancer and mental health care through visionary investments in research, discovery and patient care. Their impact extends across U of U Health, including the establishment of the 12 Jon M. Huntsman Presidential Chairs, which continue to advance innovation and research.”

University of Utah President Taylor Randall said compassion, generosity and an unwavering belief in the power of healing and hope defined Huntsman’s life. She and Huntsman Sr. and their family “helped build one of the great philanthropic legacies in our nation’s history,” he said.

“Karen and Jon Huntsman were an unmatched pair of visionaries, equally committed to innovation, advancing research, caring for patients and strengthening their community,” Randall said. “Together, they dedicated their lives to defeating cancer and reminded us that mental illness touches every person and every family in some way.”

In 2019, the Huntsman family committed $150 million to establish the Huntsman Mental Health Institute.

“At the Huntsman Mental Health Institute, we have felt her guidance, experienced her generosity, and will continue to carry forward her spirit in the work we do every day,” said Brett Graham, institute president. “We honor her life with immense gratitude.”

In 2016, Forbes wrote that Jon and Karen Huntsman were America’s second-most generous philanthropists, having given away $1.55 billion in their lifetimes, which the magazine calculated as 160% of their net worth at the time. Their generosity to the organizations and charities that caught their eyes or tugged at their hearts put them among roughly two dozen people who had given away at least $1 billion.