Read Time: 3 minutes
Takeaways:
- Vision and leadership: Karen Huntsman co-founded a bold movement to advance cancer research, care, and education through lasting philanthropic stewardship.
- Karen’s belief in dignity, compassion, and possibility continues to guide the institute’s mission and culture.
Impact: Her influence lives on in compassionate cancer care, education, and discoveries that continue to improve outcomes and bring hope to families worldwide.
Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah (the U) mourns the passing of Karen Haight Huntsman, whose compassion, vision, and generosity helped shape the institute into a place of world-class cancer research and care grounded in dignity, beauty, and hope.
Karen Huntsman’s legacy is visible across Huntsman Cancer Institute—from its earliest vision to the details that continue to comfort patients and families today, like a museum-quality art collection and fold-out furniture so family caregivers can stay with loved ones in the hospital. Alongside her husband, Jon M. Huntsman, Sr., she helped build an institution driven by science-powered medicine and a belief that people facing cancer should be met with hope, humanity, and beauty at every turn.
Today, that vision has grown into one of the nation’s leading cancer centers.
Huntsman Cancer Institute is the only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center in the Mountain West, serving patients across the largest geographic region in the country. Its researchers have identified more inherited cancer genes than any other cancer center in the world, and its faculty lead hundreds of clinical trials, innovating the future of cancer prevention and care through groundbreaking discoveries driven by the needs of our patients.
Karen’s belief in the importance of a healing environment was reflected in her personal attention to the institute itself. She cared about Huntsman Cancer Institute the way she cared for her own home—straightening a frame, aligning a chair, and noticing the details that could make a space feel welcoming. She was especially instrumental in the art that adorns the institute’s walls. She had a passion for art; when Huntsman Cancer Institute opened its doors in 1999, Karen initiated the acquisition of works of fine art from her personal collection and solicited donations from friends in an effort to “create an environment as healing as the medicine” at Huntsman Cancer Institute, according to Jon M. and Karen Huntsman. She personally oversaw the display of modern and contemporary Indigenous works in the Huntsman Cancer Institute Kathryn F. Kirk Center for Comprehensive Cancer Care and Women’s Cancers, which opened in 2023. All pieces in the building are part of the Jon M. and Karen H. Huntsman Family Collection, reflecting her deep commitment to surrounding patients in hope and beauty during some of the hardest moments of their lives.
Karen spoke openly about what drove her. Reflecting on the circumstances that led her family to create a cancer center, she said, “Sometimes in our lives we have adversity that hits us, that we are not ready for, and it changes the view of our world, and where we should focus.” She often shared the moment her husband told her he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer, describing it as a turning point that strengthened their resolve to make a difference in cancer care. She saw her family as “stewards” of their wealth, with a responsibility to use it in service of people in need and causes that could improve the community and the world.
“Karen Huntsman was a woman of profound caring, compassion, and kindness—and her dedication to easing suffering has been lifesaving for so many,” says Bradley Cairns, PhD, CEO of Huntsman Cancer Institute. “Her caring heart was instrumental in the creation of Huntsman Cancer Institute and is woven into every aspect of our buildings and our culture. We will be forever grateful.”
“I was blessed to have had Karen Huntsman in my life for more than 25 years. Karen was a guide and an inspiration,” says Mary Beckerle, PhD, member of the Huntsman Cancer Foundation Board of Directors and CEO of Huntsman Cancer Institute from 2006–2025. “She lived a life of gratitude and humility and generosity—whether selecting and placing art on the walls of Huntsman Cancer Institute with her grandchildren, cheering on our caregivers and scientists, or navigating her own cancer diagnosis with unparalleled grace. She had an eye for beauty and a full heart. She will be deeply missed and never forgotten. Her spirit will always be present at Huntsman Cancer Institute, joining that of her husband, Jon, and continuing to light the way.”
Karen stood beside Jon Huntsman through nearly 60 years of marriage, including his cancer diagnoses, and in recent years she faced cancer herself. Those experiences deepened a lifelong commitment to ensuring that patients receive exceptional but compassionate care. After Jon’s death in 2018, Karen remained an enduring advocate for the mission they began together and for the people it serves.
“Karen Huntsman was an incredible and remarkably generous woman. She and her husband, Jon, not only had a vision of a world without cancer, but they were active participants in helping to ensure that vision could someday become a reality,” says Michael Delzotti, FAHP, CFRE, president and COO of Huntsman Cancer Foundation. “Her philanthropic support turned what was once an empty hillside into a comprehensive cancer center that is leading the way in cancer research and patient care. Karen's legacy extends far past those who were lucky enough to have personally known her, but to everyone who has been impacted by the care, compassion, and discovery that has and continues to take place at Huntsman Cancer Institute.”
Karen Huntsman’s impact on the institute was felt by the more than 4,000 doctors, researchers, staff, and trainees, many of whom were accustomed to seeing her in the hallways of Huntsman Cancer Institute. “It is a profound honor to hold the endowed chair bearing Karen Huntsman’s name,” says Theresa Werner, MD, deputy director of the Comprehensive Cancer Center at Huntsman Cancer Institute and professor of internal medicine at the U. Werner holds the Karen H. Huntsman Presidential Endowed Chair in Cancer Research. “Her commitment to advancing cancer research and improving the lives of patients continues to inspire my work every day, and I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to help carry forward her legacy. It has also been a privilege to get to know Karen and her family personally over the years. Their extraordinary generosity and unwavering commitment to cancer care and research have meant a great deal to me, and I am honored to help advance the impact they have made on patients and families facing cancer.”
Huntsman Cancer Institute extends its deepest condolences to the Jon M. and Karen Huntsman family. Her memory lives in the beauty she brought to this place, in her focus on creating hope, and in the generations of patients and families who will benefit from the institution she helped create.
Read more:
University of Utah Tribute to Karen Huntsman
The critical research happening every day at Huntsman Cancer Institute is supported by the National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute, including cancer center support grant P30 CA042014, as well as Huntsman Cancer Foundation.
Media Contact
Heather Simonsen
Public Affairs Senior Manager
Huntsman Cancer Institute
801 581-3194
public.affairs@hci.utah.edu
About Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah
Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah is the National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center for Utah, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, and Wyoming. With a legacy of innovative cancer research, groundbreaking discoveries, and world-class patient care, we are transforming the way cancer is understood, prevented, diagnosed, treated, and survived. Huntsman Cancer Institute focuses on delivering the most advanced cancer healing and prevention through scientific breakthroughs and cutting-edge technology to create pioneering cancer treatments beyond the standard of care today. We have more than 400 open clinical trials and more than 300 research teams studying cancer. More genes for inherited cancers have been discovered at Huntsman Cancer Institute than at any other cancer center. Our scientists are world-renowned for understanding how cancer begins and using that knowledge to develop innovative approaches to treat each patient’s unique disease. Huntsman Cancer Institute was founded by Jon M. and Karen Huntsman.