Funeral service will be 11:00 A.M. on Saturday, May 4, 2024, at St. Phillip AME Church.  Burial will follow in Greenlawn Memorial Park.  Visitation will be one hour prior to the service on Saturday at the church.  Karen Denise Smith was born to Otto and Jimmie Dean Smith on January 22, 1969, in Wilmington, North Carolina.  She suddenly departed this life on April 20, 2024.  Karen accepted Christ as her Lord and Savior at an early age and, with her family, became a member of St. Phillip A.M.E. Church.  She was educated in the New Hanover County Public School System and graduated from New Hanover High School in 1987.  She continued her education at Central Texas College, where she majored in Human Resources and Personnel Administration.  Karen met her future husband, United States Marine Corps Corporal Melvin Lewis, in the fall of 1994, and was joined to him in holy matrimony on July 27, 1996. They have two beautiful daughters, Sher-Kona Nichol Cross, and Meosha Renee Lewis.  On March 24, 2013, they were blessed with the gift of their precious grandson, Zaelon Bruce Malcom.  Karen Denise Lewis followed her dreams and became a Real Estate Agent, working with companies such as Prudential Hometown Realtors, Keller Williams Realty, Inc., and Charter Homes Real Estate in North Carolina and in Dubai U.A.E.  She was Real Estate Resources Academy certified, and a member of the National Board of Realtors in North Carolina for over 15 years.  Always seeking her next great adventure, she became the independent business owner of Boutique Property Care Services, located in Dubai U.A.E.  As a Marine Corps wife, Karen embraced the many travel opportunities available to her and her family and lived in Jacksonville, NC; Yuma, AZ; Iwakuni, Japan; Beaufort, SC; and Okinawa, Japan.  She enjoyed volunteering and served in various positions to include Counsel Secretary for the American Red Cross in Japan, and was a United Service Organization volunteer, Secretary of the American Red Cross, and Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society volunteer, Key Spouse volunteer for each unit her husband was assigned, as well as countless other volunteer positions.  Life after the Marine Corps took them to the United Arab Emirates where she lived for the past 10 years.  Karen continued to embrace other cultures and explored the world, visiting 4 continents and 25 countries (Antigua, United States-Guam, Cayman Islands, Bahamas, Mexico, Canada, Jamaica, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Jordan, Kenya, Seychelles, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, France, Italy, Vatican City, United Kingdom, Japan, Korea, Thailand, China, Cambodia, and Maldives).  She made friends around the world, many of whom were like family, and who will miss her dearly.  Those waiting to welcome Karen into the gates of heaven are her parents: Otto and Jimmie Dean Smith; her father-in-law: William L. Lewis, Sr.; sisters: Gloria Smith Davidson and Brenda Jean Smith; brothers: Charles A. Smith, Douglas I. Smith, Gregory O. Smith, Christopher J. Smith, and Jimmy D. Smith; sister-in-law Cavelle Y. Lewis.  Karen will be greatly missed by her husband, Retired United States Marine Corps 1st Sergeant Melvin O. Lewis; daughters: Sher-Kona Nichol Cross of Phoenix, Arizona, and Meosha Renee Lewis of Baltimore, Maryland; grandson: Zaelon Bruce Malcom; mother-in-law Iva C. Lewis of New Hampton, New York; sister: Debra Smith Johnson of Wilmington North Carolina; brothers: Kenneth (Barbara) Smith of Marietta, Georgia, Michael (Cherry) Smith, Stevie (Martha) Smith, and Daryl Smith, all of Wilmington, North Carolina; brothers-in-law: Trevor Reynolds of Cherry Hill, New Jersey, Walter A. Lewis of St. George, Antigua W.I., and William L. (Carol) Lewis, Jr. of Miramar, Florida; sisters-in-law. Audrey L. Lewis (Trevor) Davis of St. George, Antigua W.I., and Arlene J. Lewis (Samuel) Joseph of Pickering, Ontario, Canada, Deborah S. Smith of Kernersville, North Carolina and Deborah L. Smith of Durham, North Carolina; and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, and special friends.