Karen Chotkey

Karen Rosaland Barnett-Chotkey was born October 21, 1962, in Huntington Park, California, to parents Bill and Mary Jo Barnett.  She descended paternally from the Muskogee Nation and maternally from the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma.  She made a profession of faith in Christ Jesus at the age of eight.  Karen was an accomplished musician who played the piano, violin, and string bass.  Within her first year of playing the string bass, she made First Chair in the Oklahoma All State Orchestra.  Her creativity also extended into art, she would often create pencil drawings of horses, her favorite subjects. After graduating from Shawnee High School, she attended Oklahoma City University on a music scholarship, and Central State University where she studied Criminal Justice.  During her time in college, her love of music also manifested in her work as a Disk Jockey at the university’s Classical radio station.  She also used her musical talents by serving as the church pianist, church music director, and Director of the Oklahoma Indian Youth Ensemble.  For her volunteerism, Karen was awarded by the Secretary of Interior of the United States the Gold Congressional Award in Washington DC on September 26, 1985 for her initiative, achievement, and excellence of young persons ages 14 through 23 who excel in voluntary service and personal development.  In 1986, she met Darrell M. Chotkey, and they married June 27, 1987.  The union gave her 2 sons, Robert Joseph Chotkey and Johnathan Brent Chotkey, and later third son, William Michael Chotkey.   As a family, the Chotkeys enjoyed attending Pow-wows and dancing.  Karen danced and competed in Women’s Buckskin and Southern Cloth.  She learned to do beadwork and crafted her own regalia.   Karen worked at Tinker AFB in Midwest City, Oklahoma as an Aircraft Technician and later at Kingsbay Naval Base in Kingsland, Georgia as a Submarine Technician.  Her volunteerism continued, serving Indian Falls Creek Baptist Assembly as Editor of the newsletter The Splashes, creating the camp program, and designing the camp t-shirts.  Karen loved animals, especially horses, she had fish and parakeets, and made a practice of adopting rescue dogs.  She was known for her sense of humor, enjoyment of singing, her love of classic movies, and reading literature.  She leaves behind her husband, Darrell Chotkey, of 31 years, sons Johnathon Chotkey and William Chotkey; her parents Bill and Mary Jo Barnett, brother Lincoln Barnett, sisters, Stephanie Barnett, Jennifer Barnett, and Angela Barnett-Couture and husband Lance Couture; sister-in-law, Sharon Ann Chotkey; nephews, Shawn Edward Powesh and Chase Hartman; great nephew, Bentley James Hartman, as well as many cousins, adopted family, the Roig family from France and Ilunga family from Congo, and a loving church family at Indian Nations Baptist Church in Seminole, OK.    She was preceded in death by her son Robert Chotkey; mother-in-law, Mary Louise Chotkey. Funeral services will be held at 2:00 p.m. Tuesday, February 20, 2018 at First Baptist Church of Seminole with Rev. Randy Colbert officiating. Burial will take place at Fairview Cemetery , Shawnee , Oklahoma .   Karen will be taken to Indian Nation Baptist Church at 4:00 p.m. Monday February 19, 2018 for a wake service which will begin at 6:00 p.m.. Serving as casket bearers are: Shawn Edwards, Raymond Davis, Michael Brown, Victor Hudson, Chris Brown and Levi Salazar; honorary casket bearers are, Maurice Sponcer and Chase Boyd Hartman.   Funeral services are under the direction of Swearingen Funeral Home of Seminole, Oklahoma . Funeral Information: February 20, 2018, 2:00 PM First Baptist Church of Seminole located at 420 Reid Street, Seminole, OK 74868