Karlee Faith Hughes

Karlee Faith Hughes, 19, of Dakota Dunes, South Dakota, passed away Thursday, November 14, 2024.

A Celebration of Life will be held at 11:00 A.M. Wednesday, November 20, 2024, at Sunnybrook Community Church followed by an ice cream social at the church. Visitation with the family will be Tuesday, November 19, 2024, from 4:00 P.M. - 6:30 P.M. with a prayer service and sharing of memories beginning at 6:30 P.M. at the church.  The prayer service and celebration of life will be livestreamed and can be found on the Sunnybrook website:  https://sunnybrookchurch.org.  

Karlee was born on August 4, 2005, in Omaha, Nebraska to Shannon and Missy Hughes. She was adored by her siblings Aly and Ryan, her brother-in-law Koel and her beloved dog Zoey. The age gap between her and her siblings never stood in the way of their incredibly close bond. The love between this family was evident in all they did. With all of them living within just a few blocks of each other, their weekly family dinners became one of her favorite family traditions.

Karlee graduated from Dakota Valley High School in May 2024 and was living her best life as a freshman at the University of South Dakota with her loving roommates, her USD TRIO group and Kappa Alpha Theta sorority sisters, who accepted her in and made her feel like family from day one.

Karlee was known for her smile, quick wit and sass. There was nothing Karlee wouldn’t try. She tried skiing, biking, ice skating, track and field, horseback riding, zip lining, wall climbing, swimming, basketball, softball, Girl Scouts, theater, and choir. She was also a Dakota Valley Varsity basketball cheerleader for 4 years which included 5 trips to the State Tournament. She was quick to point out to her siblings that she had more state trips than they did. One of her favorite memories was attending Spirit Camp each summer with other kids with Spina Bifida who knew exactly what she was going through and who became her family.

She loved being on stage in musicals and plays, and it showed with her multiple performances. Acting and performing brought out the best in Karlee. She always seemed to get the roles with sassiness, and she rocked it. Dakota Valley Theatre and the Penguin Project were especially important to Karlee. She truly felt seen and loved in these programs. She would get mad when Missy or Shannon asked her how “practice” was, quickly correcting them, “it’s called rehearsal”. She was quick to remind them that they were no longer “sports parents”, but rather “theater parents”. Her family could not have been more proud of her theatrical achievements.

This Summer was a particularly busy one as they anticipated Karlee’s move to college. As such they took in a handful of experiences. Karlee loved music and was a self-proclaimed “Swiftie”. The highlight of her summer was living out her dream of attending a Taylor Swift Concert with Missy and Aly. Missy and Karlee also took a spontaneous road trip to Kansas City to see an Olivia Rodrigo Concert, arriving just in time for the opening act. She also went to Chicago with Missy and to Las Vegas for her Senior Trip.

 Holiday gatherings with the family and time at Twin Lakes and Okoboji were also some of her favorite moments. Her extended family meant everything to her. She loved her weekly facetimes with Grandma, being taller than her Nana and letting her know it, and her Papa bringing her ice cream after every surgery. Her beloved sweet tooth was well known, as she loved cookies and “Sundaes on Sundays” …her dad’s malts were always her favorite. She had the entire family wrapped around her finger and she knew it.

Karlee loved hard. No matter the situation, she treated others with kindness. It has become abundantly clear over the last few days how many people Karlee has touched in her life. She was a friend to so many and embodied kindness to all that she encountered. In fact, Karlee chose to go into Social Work at USD as her Major because of her passion to help others.

Karlee is survived by her parents Shannon and Missy Hughes; sister Aly and husband Koel Radtke and their beloved dog Ziggy, and brother Ryan Hughes all of Dakota Dunes, SD; her beloved dog Zoey; paternal grandmother Dee Dee Hughes; maternal grandparents Duane and Linda Quinn; aunt Roni (Rich) Engeldinger and cousin Miranda; aunt Mandy (Justin) Wagner and cousins Taylor, Brady and Carter; aunt Danielle Quinn and her boyfriend-Matt Hahn and cousins Tyler, Caden and Josie; aunt Kris (Tom) Gauthier and cousins Carson and Grant; and uncle Jay Vogel and cousin Anthony (Amanda) Hommes and their three children.

She is preceded in death by her grandfather Pat Hughes, her aunt Lisa Vogel, and her cousin Devin Hommes.

Pallbearers are Brady Wagner, Carter Wagner, Tyler Mollhoff, Caden Mollhoff, Carson Gauthier, and Grant Gauthier.

Honorary pallbearers are Miranda Engeldinger, Taylor Wagner, Josie Quinn and Natalie Wagner.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Karlee’s memory can be made to the Spina Bifida Association of Iowa, Camp High Hopes and New Stage Players Penguin Project.