Karen Hetrick Mertens passed away on Sunday, September 6, 2026. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, to the late Richard Alvin Hetrick and Margaret Ann Powell Hetrick, Karen was a woman of intelligence, creativity, determination, and a genuine appreciation for life. She possessed a wide range of talents and interests, but at the center of her life were the people and values she held most dear—her faith, her family, her friends, and her country.

Karen valued education and had a natural gift for mathematics. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from Bowling Green University in 1975 and went on to receive her Master of Science in Math Sciences from Clemson University in 1977. Following graduate school, Karen taught in the Math Sciences Department at Clemson during the 1977–1978 school year.

Karen and Tommy were married on June 18, 1977, and moved to Warner Robins in the fall of 1978, when Tommy went to work with TRW. She began working for TRW also and remained there for eight years before resigning following the birth of her son, Dillon, choosing to devote her time to raising him. After Dillon started school, Karen put her creativity and entrepreneurial spirit to work by starting a jewelry sales business called Casual Elegance. She sold both jewelry she purchased and beautiful pieces she made herself throughout the Southeast.

Karen was exceptionally talented with her hands and enjoyed creating and restoring things. In addition to making jewelry, she was an accomplished seamstress and an avid gardener. She also took great satisfaction in reupholstering furniture in her childhood home, which she lovingly maintained following the deaths of her parents.

With a strong interest in her community, Karen became involved in local politics in 1999 and ran for public office several times. In September of 2002, she won a special election to the Houston County School Board, where she proudly served through 2004.

Some of Karen’s happiest memories were made outdoors. Before and throughout Dillon’s childhood, she enjoyed canoeing, fishing, and camping with friends along the rivers of southern Georgia. When Tommy and Karen became too old for primitive camping, they bought a camper, and together they continued their adventures at state parks throughout Georgia and Florida. Those trips provided countless opportunities to enjoy nature and, most importantly, time together.

Through the influence of a good friend, Karen also became an enthusiastic fan of the Indianapolis 500. She attended the legendary race at least ten times, often arriving early to take in the excitement of practice and qualifying in addition to race day.

Whether she was working with her hands, tending her garden, serving her community, traveling to a race, or enjoying the outdoors with her family, Karen embraced the things that brought meaning and enjoyment to her life. Above all, Karen loved the Lord, her country, her family, and her friends, and those loves remained at the heart of the life she lived.

In addition to her parents, Karen was preceded in death by her brother, Russell Thomas Hetrick.

Her memory will forever be treasured by her husband, George Thomas “Tommy” Mertens; son, Dillon Mertens; and brother, Richard Carleton Hetrick.

At the request of the family, all services are private.

McCullough Funeral Home and Crematory has the privilege of being entrusted with these arrangements.