Dr. Karen Leslie McNiece Redwine

Karen Leslie McNiece Redwine of Boise, Idaho, went to be with her Lord and Savior on January 12, 2026, following more than 13 years of living with stage IV ovarian cancer. She was 50 years old.

A pediatric nephrologist, Dr. Redwine spent her career working with children and families in Houston, Little Rock, and Boise.

A woman of faith, Karen shaped her life and the lives of others through active membership in a series of United Methodist congregations. She sang in their choirs, served as an occasional soloist, and directed children’s and youth choirs.

While Karen gave birth to one child, Katelyn, she mothered many others over the years, including Kalli, Will Jr., and Kassey, thanks to her devoted marriage to their father, Will, whom she married on May 30, 2009.

Born in Little Rock on May 19, 1975, Karen grew up in Conway, Arkansas, where she attended Conway Public Schools, participating in student council, band, and choir before matriculating at Hendrix College in 1992 – a year before receiving her high school diploma. A biology major active in the Alpha Epsilon Delta pre-medical society, she took advantage of Hendrix’s liberal arts curriculum by delving into other classes and extracurricular activities that interested her, singing in the Hendrix College Choir for all four years, and serving on the Religious Life Council. Following her 1996 graduation, she attended medical school at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock. She graduated from UAMS in 2000 and remained there for her pediatrics residency, which she completed in 2003. She then moved to Houston for a pediatric nephrology fellowship at the UT Health Houston, where she earned a Master of Public Health.

She returned to her home state in 2007 and cared for patients through Arkansas Children’s Hospital while serving on the faculty at UAMS. In 2015, an opportunity emerged in Boise that would enable her to help address the shortage of specialists needed to treat Idaho’s children. She spent 10 years offering patient care through her work at St. Luke’s Boise Medical Center / St. Luke’s Children’s Hospital.

Karen is survived by her beloved husband, William Redwine; four children, Katelyn, Kalli (Robert), William (Taylor), and Kassey; her parents, Jim McNiece and Elaine McNiece (Jake Honea); a brother, J.J. McNiece; an aunt and uncle, Marian and Dan Crowder; and cousins, loyal friends, and colleagues who will cherish her memory. She was predeceased by her grandparents, Cecil and Virginia McNiece and Lucille Allmon Mack; and her parents-in-law, Derral and Terrie Redwine, who spent their last years sharing Karen and Will’s home.

A service celebrating Karen’s life and resurrection will be held at Cathedral of the Rockies (First United Methodist Church), Saturday, January 24, at 10 a.m. Mountain Standard Time with the Rev. Duane Anders officiating. Visitation will be held Friday, January 23, from 5 to 7 p.m. at Bowman Funeral Home of Garden City, Idaho. 

Karen declared that no black is to be worn to her service; please bring your bright colors! The service will be livestreamed by Cathedral of the Rockies. For those in Arkansas who wish to come together for the service, a livestream viewing will be hosted in Wesley Hall of Pulaski Heights United Methodist Church in Little Rock at 11 a.m. Central Standard Time.

Interment with a graveside service will follow at Eddyville Cemetery in Eddyville, Illinois. Memorials may be given to Hendrix College (hendrix.edu/give) for the Dr. James C. McNiece, Dr. Karen McNiece Redwine, and James C. McNiece, Jr., Endowed Scholarship.